New Push To Snuff Out Fire Fee

Sacramento, CA – A local lawmaker has called on the Governor to extinguish the fire fee. Today, Board of Equalization member George Runner today urged Governor Jerry Brown to restore full funding to CalFire and eliminate the controversial Fire Prevention Fee. Runner wants the Governor to make that a revision in his 2014-15 budget proposal.

“The Fire Prevention Fee was established during a time of crisis, when the state faced multi-billion budget deficits,” said Runner. “Those budget deficits are gone, but the fire fee remains, much to the chagrin of hundreds of thousands of rural property owners throughout California.”

By law, the Board of Equalization is required to mail “Fire Prevention Fee” bills on behalf of Cal Fire to nearly 800,000 Californians each year. Runner says in the 2012-13 fiscal year, the Board and CalFire spent more than $17 million to collect $75 million from Fire Fee payers. He argues, “The fiscally responsible thing to do is eliminate it.”