Bill Text: CA AB2474 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Fire prevention fee: state responsibility areas.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-05-25 - In committee: Set, second hearing. Held under submission. [AB2474 Detail]

Download: California-2011-AB2474-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 2474	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 29, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Chesbro

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2012

   An act  to amend Sections 4210 and 4212 of the Public
Resources Code,  relating to fire  provention. 
 prevention. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2474, as amended, Chesbro. Fire prevention fee: state
responsibility areas.
   Existing law requires the state to have the primary responsibility
for preventing and suppressing fires in areas that the State Board
of Forestry and Fire Protection has determined are state
responsibility areas. Existing law required the board, on or before
September 1, 2011, to adopt emergency regulations to establish a fire
prevention fee in an amount not to exceed $150 to be charged on each
structure on a parcel that is within a state responsibility area.
The board is required to adjust the fee annually using prescribed
methods.
   This bill would  make legislative findings and
declarations regarding the imposition of the fire prevention fee
  require the board, no later than July 1, 2013, to
amend those emergency regulations required to be adopted by the board
pursuant to those provisions to provide for a credit against the
amount of the fee imposed on each structure on a parcel that is
within a state responsibility area based upon specified factors, as
prescribed, not to exceed a maximum of $150. The bill would require
the board to adjust the fee taking into account specified factors to
ensure that the fee accurately reflects the fire prevention benefits
provided. The bill would require the board to, not later than January
1, 2013, and annually thereafter,   report to the
Legislature on the costs of responding to all fire disasters in state
responsibility areas for that year, including specified information
 .
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares that the fire
prevention fee imposed pursuant to Chapter 8 of the Statutes of 2011
should be implemented in a fair and equitable manner, and should take
into consideration any amounts that an owner of a structure in a
state responsibility area already pays for local fire service and the
severity of the fire zone where the structure is located.
   SEC. 2.    Section 4210 of the   Public
Resources Code   is amended to read: 
   4210.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) Fire protection of the public trust resources on lands in the
state responsibility areas remains a vital interest to California.
Lands that are covered in whole or in part by a diverse plant
community prevent excessive erosion, retard runoff, reduce
sedimentation, and accelerate water percolation to assist in the
maintenance of critical sources of water for environmental,
irrigation, domestic, or industrial uses.
   (b) The presence of structures within state responsibility areas
can pose an increased risk of fire ignition and an increased
potential for fire damage within the state's wildlands and
watersheds. The presence of structures within state responsibility
areas can also impair wild land firefighting techniques and could
result in greater damage to state lands caused by wildfires.
   (c) The costs of fire prevention activities aimed at reducing the
effects of structures in state responsibility areas should be borne
by the owners of these structures.
   (d) Individual owners of structures within state responsibility
areas  that are not within the service area of a local fire
district  receive a disproportionately larger benefit from fire
prevention activities than that realized by the state's citizens
generally.
   (e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the economic burden
of fire prevention activities that are associated with structures in
state responsibility areas shall be equitably distributed among the
citizens of the state who generally benefit from those activities and
those owners of structures in the state responsibility areas who
receive a specific benefit other than that general benefit.
   (f) It is necessary to impose a fire prevention fee to pay for
fire prevention activities in the state responsibility areas that
specifically benefit owners of structures in the state responsibility
areas.
   SEC. 3.    Section 4212 of the   Public
Resources Code   is amended to read: 
   4212.  (a) (1) By September 1, 2011, the board shall adopt
emergency regulations to establish a fire prevention fee for the
purposes of this chapter in an amount not to exceed one hundred fifty
dollars ($150) to be charged on each structure on a parcel that is
within a state responsibility area.  
    (2)     No later than July 1, 2013, the
board shall amend the emergency regulation required to be adopted
pursuant to this section to do the following:  
   (A) Specify that an owner of a structure on a parcel within a
state responsibility area who pays one hundred fifty dollars ($150)
or more to a local agency that provides fire protection services in
the state responsibility area is not required to pay the fire
prevention fee established pursuant to this chapter.  
   (B) Require that an owner of a structure on a parcel within a
state responsibility area who pays less than one hundred fifty
dollars ($150) to a local agency that provides fire protection
services in the state responsibility area be given a credit against
the amount of the fire prevention fee imposed pursuant to this
chapter in an amount equal to the amount paid to the local agency for
those services.  
   (C) Adjust the fire prevention fee established pursuant to this
chapter to take into account fire history and severity in state
responsibility areas to ensure that the fee accurately reflects the
fire prevention benefits provided.  
   (2) 
    (3)  The Legislature finds and declares that a fire
prevention fee of not more than one hundred fifty dollars ($150) is a
reasonable amount for the necessary fire prevention activities of
the state that benefit the owner of a structure within a state
responsibility area. 
   (4) No later than January 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the
board shall report to the Legislature on the costs of responding to
all fire disasters and emergencies in state responsibility areas for
that year. The report shall contain a breakdown of the costs of fire
prevention and response in state responsibility areas, including all
of the following:  
   (A) The total costs of fire prevention and response in urban
versus rural areas in state responsibility areas.  
   (B) The estimated costs of fire prevention and response in state
responsibility areas, as determined by the square footage of a
structure and any other related fires and natural disasters such as
earthquakes and other wildland fires. 
   (b) On July 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the board shall
adjust the fire prevention fees imposed pursuant to this chapter to
reflect the percentage of change in the average annual value of the
Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases of
Goods and Services for the United States, as calculated by the United
States Department of Commerce for the 12-month period in the third
quarter of the prior calendar year, as reported by the Department of
Finance.
   (c) Emergency regulations adopted pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be adopted in accordance with the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
The adoption of emergency regulations shall be deemed an emergency
and necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
health, and safety, or general welfare.