Assemblyman Jeffries unveils bill to repeal fire tax

SACRAMENTO – Seeking to put an end to what Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries calls Governor Brown’s “unfair, unconstitutional and unnecessary fire tax,” the assemblyman introduced legislation last week to overturn it.

“Having served my community as a volunteer firefighter for three decades, fire protection and prevention are critically important to me, but the Governor’s fire tax is both unfair and unnecessary for our state,” said Assemblyman Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore. “Assembly Bill X1 45 will roll back the double taxation on homeowners and force the state to make honest spending choices with the dollars it

does have.”

Assembly Bill X1 45, with over 40 legislative co-authors, will repeal the fire tax that was passed as part of this year’s majority vote budget. The state fire board recently passed emergency regulations that set the tax starting at $70 - $90 per structure in “State Responsibility Areas” located primarily in rural and unincorporated parts of the state.

Jeffries and other Republicans said the fire tax was “unfair” because many communities pay local taxes for fire protection that are on top of the services provided by Cal Fire, and some counties, like Riverside County, contract specifically with Cal Fire for fire protection services already. In effect, homeowners will be double-taxed for the same level of service. They pointed out that the fire tax was “unconstitutional” because voters approved Proposition 26 last year. That measure required new fees that benefit the public broadly to pass by a two-thirds vote of the legislature or by local voters. The legislature passed the tax with a simple majority.

Adding fuel to the fire, Jeffries argued that the tax is “unnecessary, since money was actually cut from the firefighting budget to pay for big government programs such as welfare and then imposed the fire tax as a way to help fill the gap, meaning there will be no net benefit for residents of rural areas.”

“The only thing you can do is repeal it,” said Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, referring to the fire tax. “It is nothing more than a new way to get more money for government. By no reckoning or no admission does it improve the safety of the citizens who live in state responsibility areas. It does increase the size and overreach of government and that’s why it must be repealed.”

“The devastating wildfires California has faced in recent years are a result of the state’s mismanagement of public lands, not rural Californians going about their lives,” said Senator Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale. “Penalizing Californians for the state’s bad behavior won’t prevent fires, and repealing this tax sends a message that the government must get its act together.”

Republicans sources said “with the new fire tax barely weeks old, the Brown Administration wants to raise the tax even more, to $175 per home and charge a per acre tax as well, which will impose more financial burdens on struggling homeowners and ranchers.”

“This is just as illegal as the first fire tax but this time they’ve taken off the gloves and really socked it to rural Californians,” said Senator Ted Gaines, R-Roseville. “This is clearly double taxation and it is being dumped on the backs of the people when the state has 12 percent unemployment and families are struggling just to make ends meet. I will fight this in every possible way - as a legislator and as a private citizen - and want everyone who might get stuck paying this phony fee to get in the arena and fight it too.”

Provided by Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries who represents Western Riverside County and Northern San Diego County, including the communities of Jurupa, Riverside, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Murrieta, Temecula, Fallbrook, Bonsall, Valley Center, and Julian.