SACRAMENTO - George Runner today issued the following statement in response to the Legislature's approval of AB 398, which suspends the so-called "Fire Prevention Fee" until 2031.
"For six years, ruling Democrats have extorted money in the form of a fire tax from hundreds of thousands of rural Californians, including many seniors on fixed incomes.
"After blocking repeal efforts for years, state leaders finally acted today to suspend this unjust tax, but only because they needed to win votes for a costly climate change measure.
"In other words, they did the right thing for the wrong reasons.
"This seeming victory for California taxpayers is bittersweet. A suspension falls short of a full repeal, and it fails to provide refunds to homeowners who were forced to pay this illegal tax.
"It's never too late to do the right thing: Give us our money back!"
