A fire fee that was imposed on California’s rural residents has been proposed for repeal. The $150 per structure fee could raise as much as $200 million from the 846,000 residents it applies to.
However, if California Republicans have their way, the law will be repealed. There are two arguments for repeal. One says that the fee is actually a tax, which would mean that it required a 2/3rds majority for passage, not a simple majority. The other says that it unfairly taxes residents twice, because many already pay their counties for the fire services.
CalFire is responsible for more than 31 million acres of wildfire coverage.
From the Los Angeles Times:
Republicans plan to call for the repeal of a controversial wildfire fee that Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature imposed on rural homeowners last year to cover the cost of wildland firefighting.
GOP lawmakers said they would outline the details of their legislation Thursday at a Capitol news conference. Also scheduled to attend is Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., which has argued that the fee is really a tax and should not have been passed without a two-thirds vote.
Read the full article here.