Republican Ted Gaines has begun the process of putting a fee referendum on the June 2012 ballot. The 150 dollar fee was part of the recent state budget. It applies to rural homeowners who get service from Cal Fire. But Gaines says many rural counties already contract with Cal Fire to provide fire protection:
"It's double taxation. They've already paid once through their county taxes and now they're being charged an additional tax from the state of California."
Gaines considers the fee a tax and says it should have been
passed by a two-thirds vote of the legislature. But Democrats
consider it a fee for service, and say they can pass it with a
majority vote. This is one of several expected referendum efforts
that deal with the state budget. Amazon is also trying
to overturn a new law that requires online retailers to collect
California sales tax.
