A state board restocked with Gov. Jerry Brown appointees passed a $150 fire charge Wednesday on rural property owners, continuing a drive by the Democratic governor to raise $50 million from those residents.
Most will receive a $35 discount for living in a fire district; an estimated 90 percent of structures qualify for that savings. But their remaining cost, $115, will be significantly higher than what rural property owners would have paid under a tentative plan the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection passed in August.
An estimated 800,000 structures in rural areas, including homes and office buildings, will be subject to the charge. The state is responsible for wildfire protection across 31 million acres, and the governor said this summer that suburban growth on formerly rural lands had driven up costs for the state.
After the Legislature stymied Brown's effort in September to pass a $175 fee, the governor appointed four new members to the nine-person fire board in late October, all Democrats. New board member Susan Britting, a Coloma biology consultant, made the motion for the $150 fee that passed on a 6-2 vote.
The governor's appointments adviser, Nettie Sabelhaus, and his Natural Resources Agency secretary, John Laird, were on hand for the final vote.
Officials at the fire board and the Board of Equalization, who will oversee collection, were unsure when they would bill residents. At the very least, the state expects to collect money before the fiscal year ends in June.
Fiscal conservatives have vowed to file suit challenging the fire charge as a tax. Democrats authorized it as a fee, which requires only a majority vote; a tax would have required a two-thirds vote of lawmakers.
The new $150 charge is expected to raise more than the $50 million envisioned by the governor and lawmakers in the budget. Based on a Cal Fire estimate for a slightly different proposal, the plan could raise at least $85 million before administrative costs of $10 million to $15 million are subtracted.
Board Chairman Stan L. Dixon abstained from Wednesday's vote and pressed for a delay to give rural residents more time to weigh in. "Now we're just kind of folding up our tent, in my opinion, and saying, 'Whatever, let's just go ahead and do this,' " Dixon said. "I just don't think it's right."
Rural counties and fire districts spoke against the measure. Michael McMurry, chief of the Scotts Valley Fire Protection District, feared the state fee would crowd out parcel taxes that rural fire districts rely upon.
But board members who voted in favor said the new plan is temporary for the first year, and that the board would follow up with a more thorough examination as it considers a permanent fee structure. They said it was necessary to act quickly to ensure the state has time to bolster Cal Fire's budget.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
