Special Envoy Ric Grenell blasted the California state legislature on Thursday for failing to pass a bill to protect fire victims from the higher property taxes they will face simply for complying with new fire codes.
“The Democrat one-party rule in Sacramento proves every single day that they are for higher taxes, more regulation, and are against common sense,” Grenell told Breitbart News in an exclusive statement.
The legislation, AB 1253, written by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank), would allow property owners in the Palisades and Eaton Fires to avoid higher assessments in rebuilding to new code requirements.
However, CirclingtheNews.com reported, the relevant committee in the Democrat-dominated state legislature allowed the bill to die, at least for the current legislative session:
The California State Assembly refused to move legislation forward that would not penalize fire victims if they decided to build 110% replacement of their original structure.
Today, County Assessor Jeff Prang wrote in a press release: “I am profoundly disappointed that AB 1253, authored by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank), a common-sense fire relief bill I proudly sponsored, was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee and will not move forward this legislative session.
“AB 1253 was crafted to bring fairness and clarity to wildfire victims who are attempting to rebuild their lives after devastating losses. Under current law, property owners who choose to rebuild using the emergency building codes that allow up to a 110% replacement of their original structure—may face an unanticipated property tax increase simply for complying with construction standards designed to help fire victims.”
The 110% figure was intended to smooth the local permitting process for rebuilding. However, it could also penalize owners of older homes, such as small bungalows that were the staple of post-WWII housing stock.
The political dynamics of California are such that state policy is dominated by Democrats from the San Francisco Bay Area, while the bulk of voters live in Southern California.
The lack of urgency to help fire victims at the state level could reflect that imbalance of power.
Northern California voters sometimes see Southern California as a drain on state resources, especially when it comes to scarce supplies of water.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s Democrats have steered the state into massive budget deficits for the second year in a row, so the reluctance to give property tax relief to fire victims could reflect an atmosphere of fiscal crisis.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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