Berryhill’s Legislation To Refund Fire Fee Revenue Denied

Photo by: BJ Hansen

Sacramento, CA — Residents in rural areas of California, that for six years paid the $150 SRA Fire Fee, should not expect a refund check.

The fire fee ended last year as part of a legislative compromise when the state’s cap and trade program was renewed. District 8 Republican Senator Tom Berryhill introduced Senate Bill 1044 which would have sent refunds to the property owners subjected to the earlier fee. However, the bill failed to gain support this week in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.

Berryhill says, “While I am pleased the tax was suspended in 2017, the property owners who paid millions of dollars from 2012-2017 deserve a more complete remedy. I believe the current state budget surplus has more than enough money to refund an unconstitutional tax foisted on nearly 800,000 rural property owners.”