SACRAMENTO (July 12, 2011) - Assemblyman Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber) issued the following statement today regarding the $150 State Responsibility Area Fire Fee which was injected into the recently-passed budget.

"Did you know that in the dark of night, without any public or legislative input an extra fire fee of $150 per structure was imposed on you" asked Nielsen. "Some folks are triple taxed, they already pay state taxes into the general fund, which is responsible for fire protection, they also pay their local fire department and now will be burdened with another fee on top of that."

Nielsen specified that this new fee will especially affect rural California families, and that if enough public outrage is expressed both him and Senator LaMalfa will fight to repeal this fee in the next year's budget.

"Families in the rural areas of California are already having it tough," said Nielsen. "They deserve to have peace of mind, and imposing extra fees on them will only worsen their already difficult financial situation."