Brown signs bill to fix fire fee
By Capital Press
SACRAMENTO — The more than 800,000 rural California residents charged $150 per structure for fire prevention will get some relief in certain cases.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation that reduces the penalty for late payments from 20 percent to 10 percent per month and waives the fee for homeowners who lose their residence to a wildfire or other natural disaster.
Assembly Bill 2042 was authored by Assemblyman Brian Dahle, R-Bieber, and passed unanimously in both legislative chambers.
“Like most north state residents, I’d rather see the fee simply repealed,” Dahle said in a statement. “In the meantime, this bill reforms some of the worst aspects of the fee. In particular, it was egregious that the law taxed homeowners who’d lost their homes to fire.”
Farm groups and rural residents have complained vociferously about the fees, which were enacted as part of the 2011-2012 state budget package to offset costs to CalFire.
One small step, but it does not end this illegal tax.
The headline is deceptive. They are not ‘fixing’ the fee at all. They are totally evading the fact that it is an illegal tax in the first place. Jerry Brown played a shell game with the citizens of the state and got away with it. The Democrat super-majority would never call him on it, as long as they’re getting what they want. Who cares about the tax-payers? None of ’em.
Moonbutt is running for re election and that is why he’s FIXING this ILLEGAL TAX. He is in no way fixing anything. reducing the penalty? Big deal. I pay my bills on time and don’t have to deal with them. He is destroying what’s left of this pathetic state. He is a senile old goat who needs a pasture.
And aspen is ready for the chipper. IMHO