March 14, 2017 The Honorable Cristina Garcia Chair, Assembly Natural Resources Committee State Capitol, Room 2013 Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: Assembly Bill 288 (Obernolte) – SUPPORT Dear Assembly Member Garcia: On behalf of the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), I am writing to express our support for Assembly Bill 288, authored by Assembly Member Jay Obernolte, which would extend the period for paying a Fire Prevention Fee (Fee) from 30 days to 60 days from the date of the assessment by the State Board of Equalization. RCRC is an association of thirty-five rural California counties and the RCRC Board of Directors is comprised of elected supervisors from each of those member counties. The Fee was enacted as part of the 2011 State Budget and imposed an annual fee of $152.33 on habitable structures located within a State Responsibility Area (SRA), with a $35 reduction if the homeowner resides within the boundaries of a local fire protection district. The Fee is due and payable to the Board of Equalization 30 days from the postmark date on the assessment, which leaves fee payers very little time to respond appropriately once they receive their assessments. Many rural residents experience significant mail delays and often do not receive their billing statements in a timely manner. More importantly, the administration of the fee over the past few years has been difficult and prone to errors. AB 288 would provide additional time for taxpayers to review their assessments and/or file an appeal without incurring additional fees. RCRC continues to strongly support the repeal of the current SRA Fee as we believe it is punitive to those living in many rural areas of the State. Furthermore, we believe it is unwise to base fiscal policy for fire prevention activities upon individuals who reside in the SRA. However, given that the Fee is still in place, we believe it appropriate to give individuals additional time to respond to a billing that is difficult to implement and prone to errors. The Honorable Cristina Garcia Assembly Bill 288 March 14, 2017 Page 2 For the above reasons, RCRC respectfully requests your ‘Aye’ vote when this measure is heard before your committee. Thank you for your consideration in this matter. Sincerely, STACI HEATON Regulatory Affairs Advocate cc: Members of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee Consultant, Assembly Natural Resources Committee The Honorable Jay Obernolte, Member, California State Assembly The Honorable Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Member of the California State Assembly The Honorable Joaquin Arambula, Member of the California State Assembly The Honorable Frank Bigelow, Member of the California State Assembly The Honorable James Gallagher, Member of the California State Assembly The Honorable Tom Lackey, Member of the California State Assembly The Honorable Marc Levine, Member of the California State Assembly The Honorable Chad Mayes, Member of the California State Assembly The Honorable Marie Waldron, Member of the California State Assembly The Honorable Jim Wood, Member of the California State Assembly The Honorable Bill Dodd, Member of the California State Senate The Honorable Jerry Hill, Member of the California State Senate The Honorable Mike McGuire, Member of the California State Senate The Honorable Mike Morrell, Member of the California State Senate The Honorable Jim Nielsen, Member of the California State Senate The Honorable Richard Roth, Member of the California State Senate The Honorable Scott Wilk, Member of the California State Senate .