First, the good news. Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association filed its Reply Brief in the Third District Court of Appeal yesterday. The briefing is now complete and the case will be scheduled for oral argument.
As regular recipients of these emails know, the annual fire prevention fee has been halted. The State is no longer billing the fee. However, the trial court judge threw out our case for refunds of past payments. That is what we are appealing.
Now, a bit of bad news. The Third District Court of Appeal is backlogged due to a shortage of justices. Another HJTA case has been pending a decision in that court for over two years. There is nothing we can do about the slow pace of justice.
More troubling is the fact that State Senator Bob Wieckowski, who represents an urban stretch of the East Bay, has announced consideration of a bill to reinstate the fire prevention fee. Although his proposal doesn’t have a bill number yet, we need to respond quickly.
To voice your opposition, you can call Senator Wieckowski’s capitol office at (916) 651-4010. Or you can email his office by visiting https://sd10.senate.ca.gov/contact/email. Those who are registered to vote in his Senate District 10 will have the most influence. You can view a map of the district at https://sd10.senate.ca.gov/district.
Even if you live outside of Senator Wieckowski’s district, you can still register your opposition. You can also ask your own State Senator and Assembly member to not support Senator Wieckowski’s proposal. To find contact information for your representatives, go to https://www.hjta.org/resources/taxpayer-tools/contact-representative/.
Thank you for your continued support of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.