State suspends fire fee in cap-and-trade deal
The fire prevention fee, paid annually by many in the Ramona area and throughout California, has been suspended as part of a deal in Sacramento to extend the state’s cap-and-trade climate program.
Effective July 1, Assembly Bill 398 suspends fire prevention fee billings starting with fiscal year 2017-18. Suspension of the fee is until Jan. 1, 2031, according to the legislation.
Property owners who owe fire prevention fees are still required to make payment for fiscal years 2011-12 through 2016-17, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), formerly the Board of Equalization. If a property owner has been billed for the fee and has not previously paid it, the passage of AB 398 does not change the amount owed, according to the agency.
Some property owners may still receive bills for past fiscal years if information is received that the fee was owed and not previously billed, said the CDTFA. If not paid in a timely manner, penalties and interest may be assessed.
While the suspension could be seen as welcome relief — several Republican lawmakers and taxpayer advocates have sought to repeal the fee since it was approved in 2011 — it could come at a cost, some say.
Approximately 800,000 rural property owners living in State Responsibility Areas (SRAs), where the State of California is financially responsible for the prevention and suppression of wildfires, pay a fee of $152.33 per habitable structure or a reduced fee of $117.33 if living in an area that overlaps with a fire protection district.
The fee suspension was inserted into AB 398, which extends the cap-and-trade program and requires statewide greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by at least 40 percent below the 1990 level by 2030. The bill was signed by Governor Jerry Brown on July 25.
Critics have said the program could result in gasoline prices rising up to 73 cents per gallon by 2031, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Most Republicans voted against AB 398, which passed by a two-thirds majority on July 17. Among those voting no were Senator Joel Anderson and Assemblyman Randy Voepel, both of whom represent Ramona in their districts. Anderson has opposed the fire fee and was one of several who sought to repeal it.
Voepel, who was elected in November 2016, said on his 71st District Facebook page that his office has received inquiries about payment on recently issued fire fee bills.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association says the cap-and-trade extension could hurt the middle class and plans to continue its class action lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the fire fee, which it claims is an illegal tax. The taxpayer association is anticipating concluding its case in trial court later this year. If it wins, those who signed on to the class action suit could be entitled to refunds.
Bills may be paid online at cdtfa.ca.gov or by sending a check made payable to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and mailed to: Special Taxes and Fees Remittance Processing, California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, P.O. Box 942881, Sacramento, CA 94279-2525.
Those who want to petition billings may contact Cal Fire at 1-888-310-6447 or visit bit.ly/2u5hQoc.