Obernolte Introduces Bill
in Consideration of Property Owners
Assembly Bill 203 gives homeowners an additional 30
days to pay or dispute the tax
In support of the Bill
to Ease Fire Fee, Big Bear Fire Chief Jeff Willis states, “The proposed Bill makes
sense for the residents of California. The proposed Bill provides the necessary
time to fully understand the future of the SRA Fee. I applaud Assemblyman
Obernolte and his efforts toward this endeavor.”
SACRAMENTO – Thursday
January 29, 2015, Assemblyman Jay
Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake) introduced his first bill as a California State Assemblyman. Assembly
Bill 203 gives Californians 60 days to pay or dispute a fire prevention fee,
rather than the 30 days allowed under existing law.
“The current deadline does not provide residents in rural
communities nearly enough time to pay or protest their fire fee assessments,”
Obernolte said. “Ultimately, I am hopeful that the courts will find this fee
illegal and strike it down, but in the meantime this bill will help provide
much needed relief to these homeowners.”
According to the California
Board of Equalization (BOE), many property owners have expressed concern
that they do not have sufficient time to either pay or file a petition within
the 30-day period. If a taxpayer misses the filing deadline to appeal the
assessed liability, they must first pay the fee in full and file a claim for
refund. This bill would add California to the list of 20 other states that give
homeowners at least 60 days to file a petition.
“The confusing and controversial fire fee is tax policy at its
worst,” said BOE Vice Chair George Runner. “It should be eliminated entirely,
but until then AB 203 is a step in the right direction. Increasing the payment
due date will help lessen the burden of this illegal tax on rural homeowners.”