Governor Brown To Seek Changes In Controversial Fire Fee

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Jerry Brown's administration plans to seek changes to a controversial wildfire fee on rural residents because it could end up draining money from the state's firefighting budget.

H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the governor's finance department, told The Associated Press on Thursday the problem is that money from the $150 annual fee must go to local fire-prevention programs and not the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The amount raised by the fee will be subtracted from CDF's budgets. That will leave the department with a $50 million budget hole next year and up to $200 million in future years.

Republican lawmakers and local fire officials say the law, enacted as part of the state budget, was poorly written and should be changed or repealed.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)