SACRAMENTO – Sen. Christine Kehoe has shelved her controversial legislation that would have charged wildland property owners $50 a year to help pay for fire protection.
The San Diego Democrat also conceded that she had reached an impasse with the governor's office over a separate measure that would have prohibited counties from approving development projects in wildland areas unless adequate firefighting forces are close by.
“We just couldn't get across the finish line,” Kehoe said yesterday.
However, San Diego County voters will still go to the polls Nov. 4 to determine the fate of a similar fee proposal advanced by the board of supervisors. Two-thirds of those voting would have to approve the $52-a-year assessment, which would raise $50 million a year to create a regional fire protection agency and add firefighting defenses.
After bowing out, Kehoe endorsed a proposal to levy a surcharge on property insurance bills to raise money for a broad range of emergency needs, including engines and personnel to respond to fires, earthquakes and other disasters.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, is seeking a surcharge of between $6 and $12 a year, depending on the location of the property. Democrats doubled the fee in their budget proposal. The insurance surcharge is caught up in the current budget deadlock.
Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on the Democrats' proposal, nor has he publicly protested the higher amount.
“The governor believes in doing everything we can to maximize our disaster readiness to ensure California is prepared,” said Lisa Page, a spokeswoman.
Kehoe said she was having difficulty persuading Republicans, particularly, to back the $50 fee in her measure, Senate Bill 1617. The bill needed a two-thirds vote from both houses of the Legislature – and the governor's signature – to become law. Some lawmakers also hesitated because of the possibility of imposing two fees: Kehoe's $50 per structure and a separate surcharge on property insurance bills.
“A lot of members felt they were not going to go for two bites,” Kehoe said.
Kehoe and the governor's advisers agreed to continue negotiating on her Senate Bill 1500, which sought to link fire response to land use.
The measure proposed a series of requirements related to fire response capability in wildlands at severe risk of fires. The concept is similar to law that requires developers to obtain water before building, Kehoe said.
The bill also would have required counties to assume fire protection for new developments if the density was more than three homes per acre, relieving strapped state firefighting agencies of having to defend those subdivisions.
