By Larry Mitchell
The Oroville Mercury Register
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Almost 20,000 homeowners in Butte County apparently will have to pay the state’s new “fire tax.”
Generally, they’re people who own homes in the county’s rural, unincorporated, fire-prone areas, said Janet Upton, a spokeswoman for Cal Fire, the state firefighting agency.
The amount of the tax, which was $90, was raised on Wednesday. Now, affected homeowners will owe $150 annually ($115 in many cases).
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has vowed to sue to invalidate the tax once the first bills are sent out, said state Sen. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, who strongly opposed the tax.
In an interview Thursday, he said the tax was devised by Gov. Brown and Democrats in the Legislature to replace part of the cuts made to Cal Fire’s budget when this year’s state budget was hashed out.
The tax applies to homes and some other buildings that are in what’s known as the State Responsibility Area.
Upton said California’s 100 million acres of land is split into three roughly equal areas, where fire prevention and protection are concerned. In one third, local governments have responsibility. In another the federal government is in charge. And in the third the SRA Cal Fire has jurisdiction.
The fire tax applies to homes in the SRA. “Homes” includes mobile homes and condominiums, Upton said. Stores and government buildings are also included. She said it’s estimated there are about 19,600 homes in the SRA in Butte County.
George Morris, Cal Fire local unit chief, said the SRA in Butte County takes in almost everything east of a line along Highway 99, Highway 149 and Highway 70, excepting the town of Paradise and areas inside the Chico and Oroville city limits.
Upton gave some of the places in Butte County subject to the tax include Cohasset, Magalia, Forest Ranch, Kelly Ridge, Bangor and Berry Creek.
Butte County has a contract with Cal Fire to operate the Butte County Fire Department, which protects parts of the county.
“If you are in the SRA and are covered by Butte County Fire or a fire-protection district, you pay the lower fee of $115,” Upton said. Otherwise, a homeowner would pay $150.
In July, when he signed a bill establishing the fire tax, Brown including a justification for it, writing that population increases in the SRA have raised the state’s fire protection costs.
“This bill recognizes that a portion of the costs borne by the state for wildland fire prevention and protection services should be funded by the landowners in these areas,” he added.
Upton said revenue generated by the fire tax would go towards Cal Fire’s fire-prevention efforts, such as creating fuel breaks, control burns and inspections to make sure there is 100 feet of defensible space around buildings.
LaMalfa said many believe the tax is legally vulnerable. That’s because the fire-tax bill passed with the state budget, which, under a new law, was able to pass by a simple majority. However, since the bill established a new tax, it required a two-thirds majority vote, he said.
Some call the fire tax a “fee” and argue it only required a simple majority vote.
LaMalfa said he feels the fire tax is very unfair to rural residents. If a suit is filed against the tax, he said he’ll support the legal action in any way he can.
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