SACRAMENTO — A representative from the Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC) Wednesday testified before a regulatory hearing regarding the implementation of fees on structure owners in the State Responsibility Area (SRA).
Jim Holmes, Placer County supervisor and RCRC board member, continued to voice the council”s objections to the state”s plan to implement SRA fees, also known as a “fire fee.” Holmes testified on behalf of all California rural counties during the Redding implementation hearing of the California Board of Forestry.
While Holmes admitted the hearing was to gather public input for regulatory implementation of the existing law Assembly Bill 29X, which was passed in 2011, he took the opportunity to advocate for a complete repeal of the law.
“RCRC has numerous concerns with the law, as we have continuously stated throughout the legislative and regulatory process,” Holmes said. “We opposed SRA fees when first introduced several years ago on the grounds they were bad public policy, and they were repealed as a result of legal action. SRA fees remain a bad idea and we remain opposed.”
Approximately 100 people attended the meeting. Holmes brought up a number of arguments against SRA fees, including that CAL FIRE”s most expensive activities are for fire suppression in highly urbanized areas, not rural areas. Additionally, many landowners in the SRA have already agreed to tax themselves for fire protection and prevention services, which are being performed by local fire agencies rather than CAL FIRE. Holmes argued that imposing an SRA fee effectively taxes people twice without any additional benefit.
“The state is setting itself up for long-term liability by assuming a greater role in fire prevention,” he said. “CAL FIRE needs a healthy and strong local fire protection infrastructure to achieve its mission and protect California from the effects of wildfires. SRA fees weaken the state”s mutual aid system by unraveling the ”respond-first-we”ll-figure-out-the-cost-later” understanding.”
According to calculations by the California Department of Finance, once CAL FIRE”s budget is backfilled, administrative costs for the SRA fee program will consume the remainder of the funds for a minimum of five years, thus eliminating local fire grant opportunities for that period of time.
The RCRC is an association of 31 rural counties that advocates before the legislature, Congress and other government agencies on behalf of rural issues. Headquartered in Sacramento, county supervisors comprise RCRC”s governing board. For more information, visit www.rcrcnet.org.
