The new Fire Prevention Fee is not only a direct attack on Proposition 26, but it also represents a new kind of property tax that violates and undermines Proposition 13 and Proposition 218. If the new Fire Prevention Fee is not overturned, the Legislature will have created a gigantic loophole that will undermine all of the taxpayer protections in the California Constitution.

If the state was really planning to offer new and better firefighting services in some parts of the state, they could have allowed the residents of those areas to approve the new assessments in accordance with Proposition 218. What is wrong with letting people choose? We know that people are willing to pay for firefighting services since nearly all of the people who will be paying this new tax live in areas that have approved special assessments for firefighting.

Instead, the Legislature decided to impose this new tax in a coercive manner. This proves that they know that taxpayers would not have approved these new assessments, because they will not get anything in return.

Tom Hudson, Executive Director
California Taxpayer Protection Committee