| Last Updated: | 1/23/2010 |
| Budget Issue: | Governor's proposed emergency response initiative. |
| Program: | Department of Forestry and Fire Protection |
| Finding or Recommendation: | Reject proposed surcharge on property insurance policies statewide as a funding mechanism for the state's wildland fire protection and other emergency response activities. Delay decisions on proposed program expansions until later budget year when they would take effect. We offer an alternative fee proposal to partially fund CalFire's wildland fire protection services. |
We presented a handout on the Governor's emergency response initiative at the January 21, 2010 hearing of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee. In the handout, we summarize the Governor's proposal, find that the proposed insurance surcharge is a tax with Proposition 98 funding obligations, and discuss an alternative fee proposal that would assess a fee on property owners in State Responsibility Areas that directly benefit from the state's wildland fire protection services.