CalFire fee angers rural Californians
By Jack Newsham, Sacramento Bee
Foothill residents, as well some property owners in the Lake Tahoe Basin, are bracing for the second year of “fire prevention fees,” a $150 charge that a class-action lawsuit alleges is an illegal tax.
The state Board of Equalization began sending bills two weeks ago to more than 700,000 Californians who own land in the 31 million-acre “state responsibility area” where the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is responsible for fire protection.
In October, El Dorado County joined the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association’s lawsuit seeking to block the state’s fire fees on rural properties, but hearings have barely begun.