BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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Date of Hearing: June 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Das Williams, Chair
SB
1136 (Morrell) - As Amended April 5, 2016
SENATE VOTE: 37-0
SUBJECT: Fire prevention: state responsibility areas: report
SUMMARY: Extends the sunset and adds reporting requirements to
the annual report from the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection
(Board) regarding the expenditure of state responsibility area
(SRA) fire fees.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires the Board to classify all lands within the state for
the purpose of determining areas in which the financial
responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires is
primarily the responsibility of the state. (i.e., SRAs.)
2)Declares that it is necessary to impose a fee to pay for fire
prevention activities in the SRA that specifically benefit
owners of structures in the SRA.
3)Requires the Board to adopt regulations to establish the fee
in an amount not to exceed $150, and allows the Board to
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adjust the fee every year for inflation. Requires the fee to
be charged on each "structure" on a parcel that is within the
SRA. Defines "structure" as a building used or intended to be
used for human habitation, including a mobile home or
manufactured home. Reduces the fire prevention fee by $35 if
the structure is also within the boundaries of a local agency
that provides fire protection services. Defines "owner of a
habitable structure" as the person that is the owner of record
of a habitable structure in the county tax assessor rolls or
as recorded by the Department of Housing and Community
Development (HCD) on July 1 of the state fiscal year for which
the fee is due. Requires the Board of Equalization (BOE) to
collect the fee.
4)Requires the fee to be deposited in the State Responsibility
Area Fire Prevention Fund, which is available to the Board and
the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to
expend for fire prevention activities that benefit the owners
of structures within the SRA. Limits fire prevention
activities to the following:
a) Local assistance grants established by the Board;
b) Grants to Fire Safe Councils, the California Conservation
Corps, or certified local conservation corps for fire
prevention projects and activities in the SRA;
c) Grants to a qualified nonprofit organization with a
demonstrated ability to satisfactorily plan, implement, and
complete a fire prevention project applicable to the SRA;
d) Inspections by CAL FIRE for compliance with defensible
space requirements around structures in the SRA;
e) Public education to reduce fire risk in the SRA;
f) Fire severity and fire hazard mapping by CAL FIRE in the
SRA; and,
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g) Other fire prevention projects in the SRA that are
authorized by the Board.
5)Requires the Board, until January 31, 2017, to submit a report
to the Legislature every January 31 on the status and uses of
the fund, containing specified information and
recommendations.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. California's SRA covers over 31 million acres and
includes land in every county except San Francisco and Sutter.
CAL FIRE operates more than 200 fire stations within the SRA,
contracts with other firefighting agencies, and has a proposed
wildland fire protection budget of $1.8 billion for this
fiscal year. The fire protection budget includes, among other
things, fire prevention activities, such as brush clearance,
defensible space inspections, fire breaks, and other measures
to reduce the cost of firefighting, property loss, injury to
firefighters, and damage to the environment.
CAL FIRE's fire protection budget has seen a steady increase
over the years and is the largest budget in the Natural
Resources Agency. In the 1996-97 fiscal year, CAL FIRE's fire
protection budget was $266 million. This increase has been
attributed in large part to the significant housing
development at the boundaries between wildlands and urban
areas, the heightened risk of catastrophic fires due to fire
suppression activities over the last century, and increased
staff costs.
2)Fire Prevention Fee. In early 2011, the state was facing a
$26.6 billion budget deficit, and an annual structural deficit
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of up to $21.5 billion was projected into the future. In
March 2011, the Legislature passed $13.4 billion in budget
solutions (consisting mostly of spending cuts) to address the
deficit; however, there was still a shortfall of $10.8
billion. To assist in addressing the budget shortfall, the
Legislature passed, among other bills, ABX1 29 (Blumenfield),
Chapter 8, Statutes of 2011-12, First Extraordinary Session,
which required the Board to adopt emergency regulations to
establish a "fire prevention fee" not to exceed $150 for each
structure on a parcel that is within the SRA. The fee was
intended to fill a hole created by a $50 million General Fund
cut to CAL FIRE in the 2011 budget bill. The fee generates
around $80 million a year in revenues, which is used to
enhance statewide fire prevention work, including local
assistance grants. Recent local assistance grant awards have
focused on responding to the tree mortality crisis in
California where 29 million trees have died. The local
assistance grants help locals reduce wildfire and tree fall
risks near homes in high tree mortality areas.
3)Amendments. The author believes that the expenditure
reporting for the SRA fee has been inadequate and confusing.
This bill clarifies what must be reported. However, part of
the confusion maybe that the reporting requirement is placed
on the Board when it is CAL FIRE that holds the data for the
report. The author and committee may wish to consider
requiring CAL FIRE to complete the report and present it to
the Board and Legislature. In addition, the author and
committee may also wish to consider technical amendments to
correct drafting errors.
4)Related/Prior Legislation.
SB 1347 (Nielsen) also extends the sunset for the annual
report from the Board regarding the expenditure of SRA fire
fees. The bill is awaiting hearing in this committee.
AB 1642 (Obernolte) extends the deadlines to either pay the
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SRA fire prevention fee or file a petition for redetermination
of the fee from 30 days to 60 days. This bill was held on
suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2048 (Dahle, Chesbro, and Gordon), Chapter 895, Statutes of
2014, among other things, reduces the penalties for unpaid
fees and simplifies the appeals process.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Sen. George Runner, Member, State Board of Equalization
City of Big Bear Lake
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Riverside County Board of Supervisors
Rural County Representatives of California
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors
Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors
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45 Individuals
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Michael Jarred / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092