Bigger, tougher fires bring Calif. to the brink

The question for California is what to do now.

Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has proposed a 1.4 percent surcharge on residential and commercial property insurance premiums in areas at high risk of fires, floods or earthquakes — about 80 percent of the state. Homeowners in the other areas would pay a 0.75 percent premium.

Democrats who control the Legislature doubled those percentages in their budget proposal, expecting to raise $280 million annually for emergency response costs. Under their plan, an average California homeowner would pay an additional $25.20 a year for living in a high danger area or $13.50 for those in lower risk areas.

State Sen. Christine Kehoe, a Democrat from San Diego, has a separate proposal to charge $50 a year to property owners in rural areas that fall within the state's firefighting responsibility, which amounts to one-third of California and includes nearly 1 million homes, with thousands more being built and planned for fire-prone areas.

She projects the $50 fee would raise $45 million a year for fire protection. Her bill passed the state Senate and is awaiting consideration in the Assembly.

Twenty-nine states, including California, maintain a fund for responding to natural disasters. But only three — Florida, Indiana and Maine — assess a special surcharge or fee to pay for them.

Rural counties and legislators in California object that their residents already pay extra for fire protection and shouldn't be taxed twice as they would under Kehoe's proposal. Kehoe counters that California needs both her proposal and the insurance surcharge being negotiated by Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders.

"We can't afford not to fight fires. Homes and lives are at stake," she said. "These fires are only going to become more frequent and more intense."

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