BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1347| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 1347 Author: Nielsen (R), et al. Amended: 4/19/16 Vote: 21 SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 9-0, 4/12/16 AYES: Pavley, Stone, Allen, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson, Monning, Vidak, Wolk SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 SUBJECT: Fire prevention fee: administration SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill extends the sunset date on the annual report that the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is required to submit to the Legislature detailing the expenditure of fee money collected to administer fire prevention activities in State Responsibility Areas. The sunset date is extended from January 31, 2017 to January 31, 2022. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Establishes the State Responsibility Area (SRA) in which the primary financial responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires primarily rests with the state. SB 1347 Page 2 2)Allows a fire prevention fee to be collected to fund fire prevention activities administered by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) within a SRA. 3)Requires CDF to submit an annual report to the Legislature until January 31, 2017 that describes SRA fire prevention fee expenditures. This bill extends the sunset on the annual report from January 31, 2017 to January 31, 2022. Background In July 2011, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed Assembly Bill X1 29 (Blumenfield, Chapter 8, Statutes of 2011, First Extraordinary Session) that established the SRA fire prevention fee. A SRA is defined as an area of the state in which the financial responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires primarily rests with the state. The fee is used to pay for fire prevention services within the SRA. The fee is applied to all habitable structures within the SRA and generates on average $74 million per year. Effective July 1, 2014, the fee is levied at the rate of $152.33 per habitable structure, which is defined as a building that can be occupied for residential use. Owners of habitable structure who are also within the boundaries of a local fire protection agency will receive a reduction of $35 per habitable structure. Just over 98% of all fee payers throughout the state receive this fee reduction. According to CDF, the fire prevention fee funds a variety of important fire prevention services in the SRA. Such activities include fuel reduction projects that lessen the risk of wildfire to communities, evacuation routes, and infrastructure. Other activities include defensible space inspections, fire prevention engineering, emergency evacuation planning, fire prevention education, fire hazard severity mapping, implementation of the state and local Fire Plans, and fire-related law enforcement SB 1347 Page 3 activities such as arson investigation. An annual report on SRA fire fee expenditures is required by law. The sunset date on these reports is January 31, 2017. In a recent informational report from last year, CDF summarized expenditures for the three fiscal years 2012-15. That report is available on the CDF Web site. For the most recent year, total expenditures for fire prevention activities were $76.9 million and total administrative costs were $16.0 million. Approximately 20% of total expenditures went toward paying administrative costs. This bill was amended in the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee to remove a provision that restricted administrative costs to only five percent of total SRA fire prevention fee expenditures. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified 5/18/16) California Fire Chiefs Association Central Coast Forest Association Fire Districts Association of California Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Rural County Representatives of California OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/18/16) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, the reporting sunset should be extended "so that the Legislature may continue receiving this valuable information for a least five additional years." SB 1347 Page 4 Concerns with how the SRA fee money is spent prompted this bill. According to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, "this Legislature owes it to taxpayers to ensure that the revenue raised is spent in the most prudent way possible." Prepared by:Matthew Dumlao / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116 5/18/16 16:28:07 **** END ****