Amended in Senate June 17, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2048

Introduced by Assembly Members Dahle, Chesbro, and Gordon

(Principal coauthor: Senator Gaines)

February 20, 2014

An act to amend Sections 4211, 4212, 4213, 4214, 4220, 4221, and 4225 of the Public Resources Code, relating to fire prevention.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2048, as amended, Dahle. Fire prevention fees: state responsibility areas.

Existing law requires the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, on or before September 1, 2011, to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee in an amount not to exceed $150 to be charged on each structure, defined as a building used or intended to be used for human habitation, on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area.

This bill would delete the definition of “structure” for purposes of the fire prevention fee and instead use “habitable structure,” which the bill would define to mean a building that contains one or more dwelling units that can be occupied for residential use, as provided. The bill would also include the definition of “person” and “owner of a structure,” as provided.

The bill would require the fee to be levied upon the owner of a habitable structure identified by the department as located begin delete with end delete begin insert within end insert the state responsibility area if that person owns the habitable structure on July 1 of the year for which the fee is due. The bill would authorize the board to exempt from the fire prevention fee any habitable structure that is subsequently deemed uninhabitable as a result of a natural disaster during the year the fee is due if certain conditions are met.

Existing law requires the board to adjust the fire prevention fee annually using prescribed methods.

This bill would instead authorize the board to adjust the fee using those methods.

Existing law establishes the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and requires the board to report to the Legislature every January 1 on the status and uses of the fund.

This bill would begin insert instead end insert require the board to report to the Legislature every January 31.

Existing law authorizes a person from whom the fire prevention fee is determined to be due to petition for a redetermination of whether the fee applies to that person within 30 days after service upon the person of a notice of determination. Existing law requires the petition for redetermination to be in writing and be sent to the department, the board, and the State Board of Equalization.

This bill would, if a petition for redetermination is filed after the expiration of the 30-day time period, authorize the petition to be treated as an administrative protest or claim for refund if the department determines that the facts presented indicate that the fire prevention fee originally determined may have been excessive or the amount or the application of the fee may have been the result of an error by the department, its agent, or the State Board of Equalization. This bill would delete the requirements that the petition for redetermination be sent to the board and the State Board of Equalization.

Existing law requires a penalty of 20% of the fee determined to be due to be added to the amount due and payable for each 30-day period in which the fee remains unpaid.

This bill would begin insert prohibit the above penalty from being imposed or added after January 1, 2015, to any fee that remains unpaid or any fee that is not paid when due and payable. The bill would end insert instead add a penalty of 10% to the amount due in accordance with existing law relating to late fee payments.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 4211 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

4211.  

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:

(a) “Habitable Structure” means a building that contains one or
more dwelling units or that can be occupied for residential use.
Buildings occupied for residential use include single family homes,
multidwelling structures, mobile and manufactured homes, and
condominiums. Habitable structures do not include commercial,
industrial, or incidental buildings such as detached garages, barns,
outdoor sanitation facilities, and sheds.

(b) “State responsibility area” means state responsibility area
as defined in Section 4102.

(c) “Person” means an individual, trust, joint stock company,
business concern, or corporation, including, but not limited to, a
government corporation, partnership, limited liability company,
or association. “Person” also includes any city, county, city and
county, district, commission, the state or any department, agency,
or political subdivision thereof, any interstate body, and the United
States and its agencies and instrumentalities to the extent permitted
by law.

(d) “Owner of a habitable structure” means the person that is
the owner of record of a habitable structure in the county tax
assessor rolls or as recorded in the records of the Department of
Housing and Community Development on July 1 of the state fiscal
year for which the fee is due.

SEC. 2.  

Section 4212 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

4212.  

(a) (1) By September 1, 2011, the board shall adopt
emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee for the
purposes of this chapter in an amount not to exceed one hundred
fifty dollars ($150) to be charged on each habitable structure on a
parcel that is within a state responsibility area.

(2) The Legislature finds and declares that a fire prevention fee
of not more than one hundred fifty dollars ($150) is a reasonable
amount for the necessary fire prevention activities of the state that
benefit the owner of a habitable structure within a state
responsibility area.

(b) On July 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the board may
adjust the fire prevention fees imposed pursuant to this chapter to
reflect the percentage of change in the average annual value of the
Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases
of Goods and Services for the United States, as calculated by the
United States Department of Commerce for the 12-month period
in the third quarter of the prior calendar year, as reported by the
Department of Finance.

(c) Emergency regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be adopted in accordance with the rulemaking provisions of
the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code). The adoption of emergency regulations shall be deemed
an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health, and safety, or general welfare.

SEC. 3.  

Section 4213 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

4213.  

(a) (1) Commencing with the 2011-12 fiscal year, the
fire prevention fee imposed pursuant to Section 4212 shall be
collected annually by the State Board of Equalization in accordance
with the Fee Collection Procedures Law (Part 30 (commencing
with Section 55001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation
Code).

(2) Notwithstanding the appeal provisions in the Fee Collection
Procedures Law, a determination by the department that a person
is required to pay a fire prevention fee, or a determination by the
department regarding the amount of that fee, is subject to review
under Article 2 (commencing with Section 4220) and is not subject
to a petition for redetermination by the State Board of Equalization.

(3) (A) Notwithstanding the refund provisions in the Fee
Collection Procedures Law, the State Board of Equalization shall
not accept any claim for refund that is based on the assertion that
a determination by the department improperly or erroneously
calculated the amount of the fire prevention fee, or incorrectly
determined that the person is subject to that fee, unless that
determination has been set aside by the department or a court
reviewing the determination of the department.

(B) If it is determined by the department or a reviewing court
that a person is entitled to a refund of all or part of the fire
prevention fee, the person shall make a claim to the State Board
of Equalization pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
55221) of Part 30 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(b) The annual fire prevention fee shall be due and payable 30
days from the date of assessment by the State Board of
Equalization.

(c) The fire prevention fee shall be levied upon the owner of a
habitable structure identified by the department as located within
the state responsibility area, if that person owns the habitable
structure on July 1 of the year for which the fee is due.

(1) The board may exempt from the fire prevention fee any
habitable structure that is subsequently deemed uninhabitable as
a result of a natural disaster during the year for which the fee is
due, as well as one subsequent year if the habitable structure has
not been repaired or rebuilt. The board shall only consider granting
an exemption if the following conditions are met:

begin delete

(i)

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert  The owner of the habitable structure certifies that the
structure is not habitable as a result of a natural disaster.

begin delete

(ii)

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert  The owner of the habitable structure either can document
that the habitable structure passed a defensible space inspection
conducted by the department or by one of its agents within one
year of the date the structure was damaged or destroyed or certifies
that clearance as required under Section 4291 was in place at the
time that the structure was damaged or destroyed as a result of a
natural disaster.

(2) The board shall prepare forms for purposes of the
certification requirements in paragraph (1).

(d) Within 30 days of the effective date of this chapter, the
department shall transmit to the State Board of Equalization, and
no later than January 1 each year thereafter, the appropriate name
and address of each person who is liable for the fire prevention
fee and the amount of the fee to be assessed, as authorized by this
article, and at the same time the department shall provide to the
State Board of Equalization a contact telephone number for the
board to be printed on the bill to respond to questions about the
fee.

(e) Commencing with the 2012-13 fiscal year, if in any given
fiscal year there are sufficient amounts of money in the State
Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund created pursuant to
Section 4214 to finance the costs of the programs under subdivision
(d) of Section 4214 for that fiscal year, the fee may not be collected
that fiscal year.

SEC. 4.  

Section 4214 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

4214.  

(a) Fire prevention fees collected pursuant to this chapter
shall be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, as
follows:

(1) The State Board of Equalization shall retain moneys
necessary for the payment of refunds pursuant to Section 4228 and
reimbursement of the State Board of Equalization for expenses
incurred in the collection of the fee.

(2) The moneys collected, other than those retained by the State
Board of Equalization pursuant to paragraph (1), shall be deposited
into the State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund, which is
hereby created in the State Treasury, and shall be available to the
board and the department to expend for fire prevention activities
specified in subdivision (d) that benefit the owners of habitable
structures within a state responsibility area who are required to
pay the fire prevention fee. The amount expended to benefit the
owners of habitable structures within a state responsibility area
shall be commensurate with the amount collected from the owners
within that state responsibility area. All moneys in excess of the
costs of administration of the board and the department shall be
expended only for fire prevention activities in counties with state
responsibility areas.

(b) (1) The fund may also be used to cover the costs of
administering this chapter.

(2) The fund shall cover all startup costs incurred over a period
not to exceed two years.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the moneys in this fund
be fully appropriated to the board and the department each year
in order to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.

(d) Moneys in the fund shall be used only for the following fire
prevention activities, which shall benefit owners of habitable
structures within the state responsibility areas who are required to
pay the annual fire prevention fee pursuant to this chapter:

(1) Local assistance grants pursuant to subdivision (e).

(2) Grants to Fire Safe Councils, the California Conservation
Corps, or certified local conservation corps for fire prevention
projects and activities in the state responsibility areas.

(3) Grants to a qualified nonprofit organization with a
demonstrated ability to satisfactorily plan, implement, and complete
a fire prevention project applicable to the state responsibility areas.
The department may establish other qualifying criteria.

(4) Inspections by the department for compliance with defensible
space requirements around habitable structures in state
responsibility areas as required by Section 4291.

(5) Public education to reduce fire risk in the state responsibility
areas.

(6) Fire severity and fire hazard mapping by the department in
the state responsibility areas.

(7) Other fire prevention projects in the state responsibility
areas, authorized by the board.

(e) (1) The board shall establish a local assistance grant program
for fire prevention activities designed to benefit habitable structures
within state responsibility areas, including public education, that
are provided by counties and other local agencies, including special
districts, with state responsibility areas within their jurisdictions.

(2) In order to ensure an equitable distribution of funds, the
amount of each grant shall be based on the number of habitable
structures in state responsibility areas for which the applicant is
legally responsible and the amount of moneys made available in
the annual Budget Act for this local assistance grant program.

(f) By January 31, 2015, and annually thereafter, the board shall
submit to the Legislature a written report on the status and uses of
the fund pursuant to this chapter. The written report shall also
include an evaluation of the benefits received by counties based
on the number of habitable structures in state responsibility areas
within their jurisdictions, the effectiveness of the board’s grant
programs, the number of defensible space inspections in the
reporting period, the degree of compliance with defensible space
requirements, measures to increase compliance, if any, and any
recommendations to the Legislature.

(g) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under
subdivision (f) is inoperative on January 31, 2017, pursuant to
Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (f) shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
Code.

(h) It is essential that this article be implemented without delay.
To permit timely implementation, the department may contract
for services related to the establishment of the fire prevention fee
collection process. For this purpose only, and for a period not to
exceed 24 months, the provisions of the Public Contract Code or
any other provision of law related to public contracting shall not
apply.

SEC. 5.  

Section 4220 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

4220.  

(a) A person from whom the fire prevention fee is
determined to be due under this chapter may petition for a
redetermination of whether this chapter applies to that person
within 30 days after service upon him or her of a notice of the
determination. If a petition for redetermination is not filed within
the 30-day period, the amount determined to be due becomes final
at the expiration of the 30-day period.

(b) If a petition for redetermination is filed after the expiration
of the 30-day time period specified in subdivision (a), the untimely
petition may be treated as an administrative protest or claim for
refund if the department determines that the facts presented indicate
that the fire prevention fee originally determined may have been
excessive or that the amount or the application of the fee may have
been the result of an error by the department, its agent, or the State
Board of Equalization. Petitions filed pursuant to this subdivision
shall generally be reviewed in the same manner as a timely petition
for redetermination.

SEC. 6.  

Section 4221 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

4221.  

Each petition for redetermination of the application of
this chapter shall be in writing and be sent to the department or its
designee. The petition shall state the specific grounds upon which
the petition is founded and include supporting documentation. The
petition may be amended to state additional grounds or provide
additional documentation at any time prior to the date that the
department issues its order or decision with regard to the petition
for redetermination.

SEC. 7.  

Section 4225 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:

4225.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert The fire prevention fee determined to be due by
the department under this article is due and payable at the time it
becomes final, and if it is not paid when due and payable, begin delete a end delete
begin insert notwithstanding the end insert penalty imposed pursuant to Section begin delete 55086 end delete
begin insert 55042 end insert of the Revenue and Taxation begin delete Code shall be applied. end delete begin insert Code,
a penalty of 20 percent of the fee determined to be due shall be
added to the amount due and payable for each 30-day period in
which the fee remains unpaid. end insert

begin insert

(2) On and after January 1, 2015, the penalty imposed pursuant
to paragraph (1) shall not be imposed or added to any fee that
remains unpaid or any fee that is not paid when due and payable.

end insert begin insert

(b) On and after January 1, 2015, the fire prevention fee
determined to be due by the department under this article is due
and payable at the time it becomes final, and if it is not paid when
due and payable, the penalty imposed pursuant to Section 55068
of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall be applied.

end insert