Amador County – A Placer County Supervisor Jim Holmes testified last week on behalf of the Regional Council of Rural Counties and in opposition to the so-called State Responsibility Area fire fees.

Amador County Supervisor Richard Forster also testified on the topic in San Diego last month, on behalf of the RCRC, on which he holds a board seat.

Jehan Flagg of the RCRC said the State Responsibility Area (SRA) fees are “a burning topic that’s near and dear to most California rural county residents,” and “this issue will not be going away any time soon.” RCRC and its 31 member counties support AB 1506.

Flagg said the SRA fire fee was created by a legislative budget trailer bill, Assembly Bill 29X, which was passed in 2011. The SRA fire fee is being implemented by regulations at the California Board of Forestry, due to the directive from the Legislature in AB 29X.

Flagg said: “That’s why Amador County Supervisor Richard Forster was testifying on our behalf, to try and tell the regulators that SRA fees are a bad idea regardless whether in law or regulation.”

Flagg said AB 1506 does not redirect SRA money from fire prevention to pay salaries and benefits for new state workers. In fact, AB 1506 would completely repeal State Responsibility Area fire fees.

The annual fee would charge $150 per habitable structure on lands that are within State Responsibility Areas, and it could affect an estimated 800,000 property owners and 31 million acres throughout the sate.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.