BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1642
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1642 (Obernolte) - As Introduced January 11, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill extends the period of time owners of structures have
to pay or request redetermination of the fire prevention fee
from 30 days to 60 days.
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FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Annual revenue loss (special fund) in the $550,000 range.
Annual fee assessments are due and payable to the Board of
Equalization (BOE) 30 days from the date of assessment. BOE
staff notes that the number of late payments made between 31
and 60 days continues to decline at an average annual rate of
one percent. Meanwhile, timely payments made within the 30-day
period have improved, in part due to BOE outreach efforts.
Given the continued improvement in timely payments, BOE staff
estimates the annual average revenue loss attributable to
penalties and interest at $548,000.
2)Unknown, likely minor, one-time costs (special fund) for BOE
to reprogram computers and revise information and
publications.
3)No additional costs to CALFIRE
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, many homeowners have
expressed concern that the 30-day period does not allow
sufficient time to pay or dispute the fee. This bill provides
additional time for feepayers to review their assessments and
either dispute the fee or adjust their budgets and pay their
fees in a timely manner.
2)BOE Fee Collections and Petitions for Redetermination.
According to the BOE, approximately 70% pay the fee within the
30 days and 10% pay between 31 to 60 days. Petitions for
redetermination have declined from over 100,000 in the first
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year to around 30,000 in 2014-15. Last year, 11% of all
requests for redetermination were successful.
Additionally, approximately 10% of those required to pay the
fee have not paid any amount since the fee was established.
Almost $40 million in fees remain uncollected.
3)Background. The state is responsible for wildland fire
protection in state responsibility areas (SRA) which are
generally defined to include most nonfederal timberlands,
rangelands and watersheds thinly populated and not within the
boundaries of a city. Over 31 million acres, much privately
owned, are located in SRA. In the past, SRA lands were
largely unpopulated. In recent years, however, local
governments have allowed increased housing development in SRA
but at a level of density that maintains the state's
obligation to provide wildland fire protection.
As housing development in SRA increased, so did state fire
protection costs. In 1996-97, the department spent $475 million
on fire protection; in more recent years, CALFIRE's annual fire
protection costs neared or surpassed $1 billion.
The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) attributes much of the
increase in CALFIRE's fire protection costs to increased
housing development in SRA. The LAO notes that as housing
development in SRA has increased, the department has spent
greater resources responding to events other than wildfires
for which the state is not legally responsible, such as
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structural fires and medical emergencies. Because the LAO
concludes that much of CALFIRE's nonwildfire activities
provide private benefits, LAO has long recommended a fee on
owners of private land in SRA to pay for a portion of
CALFIRE's fire protection costs.
4)SRA Fire Protection Fees. In 2011 the Legislature passed ABx1
29 (Blumenfield), requiring the Board of Forestry and Fire
Protection to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire
prevention fee. The fee, not to exceed $150 on each structure,
was to raise $50 million to fund CALFIRE fire prevention
activities. In January 2012, the board issued its regulation,
establishing a fee of $150 per habitable structure on a parcel
located within SRA, with a $35 reduction for each habitable
structure that is also within the boundaries of a local agency
that provides fire protection services. Revenues from the fee
are to be used exclusively for fire protection. In
authorizing the fee, the Legislature recognized that
individual owners within SRA received a disproportionately
larger benefit from fire prevention activities than realized
by the state's residents generally.
As allowed by law, the Fire Board adjusted the fee for
inflation and it is currently $152.33 per habitable structure
outside a fire protection district and $117.33 for habitable
structures within a fire protection district.
5)BOE Tax and Fee Programs. The BOE administers more than 30
tax and fee programs, none of which provides a 60-day period
to pay the tax or fee or file a petition for redetermination.
6)Previous Legislation. Last year a similar measure, AB 203
(Olbernolte), was approved by the Assembly Appropriations
Committee with amendments to update the enabling statute to
reflect the current fees of $152.33 and $117.33. The author
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moved the bill to the inactive file.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081