Incarcerated individuals have long been putting their lives in danger to help battle some of California’s largest wildland fires, and soon they’ll be getting a raise.
On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 247, which clears the way for inmates serving part of their sentence on the front lines to make at least the federal minimum wage.
Previously, incarcerated firefighters could earn credit toward their sentences for volunteering to assist wildland firefighters in various capacities, but they were limited to making between $5 to $10 per day in the field, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Now they’ll be making at least $7.25 per hour.
The state’s inmate firefighting population is over 1,800; more than 1,100 deployed earlier this year to help battle the Eaton and Palisades fires.
Advocates have long said their contribution to the community has far outpaced their compensation, with many likening to the paltry wages as indentured servitude.
State Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Culver City) authored the bill and told CalMatters that it’s a bipartisan law for which Californians should be proud.
“This is a historic and momentous day,” Bryan told the outlet. “The governor signing the bill is an incredibly powerful reminder that all labor is dignified and anybody who is willing to put their lives on the line deserves our gratitude.”
The bill’s initial language called for a wage of up to $19 for individual hand crew members, but was negotiated down to the federal minimum wage throughout the legislative process. Still, it’s a historic lift for those who have volunteered to put their lives at risk in order to help their communities and reduce the length of their sentences.
In the aftermath of the most costly fire disaster in the state’s history, Newsom and the California Legislature have taken several steps to improve circumstances for incarcerated firefighters.
In addition to AB 247, Newsom also signed several bills that could vastly improve outcomes for inmate firefighters.
Two new bills signed into law could make it easier for incarcerated firefighters to be resentenced or have their criminal records expunged; another makes permanent a pilot program for youth offenders to receive fire camp training; and another will require CDCR to pay a $50,000 death benefit for any incarcerated firefighters who dies in the line of duty.
The most high-profile opponent of the AB 247 was the California State Sheriff’s Association, which argued that the existing credit system for time served was already “very generous,” and said the bill’s passage could create a financial burden to counties if they were tasked with paying these new wages. The new wages for incarcerated firefighters will be funded through the state’s budget.
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