Posted on 07/29/2004 11:02:14 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO (AP) - State lawmakers repealed a controversial fire protection fee on rural property owners Thursday, replacing the lost funds with general taxes as part of the new state budget. They also rejected several other fees tied to timber harvests, California Coastal Commission permits and the accidental killing of species protected by the Endangered Species Act.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted the fees to help close the state's massive budget gap, but gave them up when his fellow Republicans objected, said Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer. Instead, the Republican governor and majority Democrats agreed to take the money from the state's hard-hit general fund.
The California Farm Bureau Federation had sued over the most controversial of the fees, a $35 per parcel annual fee to cover part of rural fire protection costs on 31 million acres of rural land encompassing nearly a third of the state.
A hearing is set for Friday on what is now a largely moot lawsuit. The farm bureau said the judge issued a preliminary ruling Thursday upholding opponents' right to sue to block the law.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection had already been working with county assessors in 56 of the state's 58 counties to collect a double fee on each parcel this winter to pay back a projected $102.5 million borrowed from the general fund to help pay its firefighting costs.
The farm bureau and rural legislators and residents alleged the fee amounted to an illegal tax that unfairly burdened rural residents for a statewide fire problem.
Lawmakers also rejected Schwarzenegger's proposal to raise $10 million by increasing fees on timber harvest plans. But filling the gap with general tax money prevents what the forestry department had feared could be more than 200 layoffs.
They also balked at boosting coastal commission permit fees six-fold to raise $2.6 million, or imposing a fee on potential violations of the state Endangered Species Act to raise $1.5 million.
However, they did agree to double vehicle smog check fees to $12 to pay for $33.9 million in annual air pollution programs. But the overall cost to consumers will drop because new cars won't need their first smog check for six years, up from the current four.
They also increased water user fees to cover all administration costs, saving the general fund $713,000.
---
On the Net:
Read SB1112 at www.sen.ca.gov
fyi
The Democrats rejected a tax increase that Schwarzenegger proposed?
Either the world is upside down or the king has no clothing!
Wait till FairOpinion hears about this one.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.