BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       SB 1347|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520    Fax: (916)      |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
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                                   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.









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          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  







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          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."









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          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


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