Bill Text: CA AB247 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Inmate firefighters: wages.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-10 - Referred to Com. on PUB. S. [AB247 Detail]
Download: California-2025-AB247-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 247
| Introduced by Assembly Member Bryan |
January 15, 2025 |
An act to amend Section 4019.2 of the Penal Code, relating to inmate firefighters.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 247, as introduced, Bryan.
Inmate firefighters: wages.
Under existing law, a prisoner can reduce their term of imprisonment by earning credit for, among other things, continuous incarceration, good behavior, and participation in approved rehabilitative programming. Existing law makes an inmate of a county jail who has completed training for assignment to a state or county facility as an inmate firefighter, or who is assigned to a state or county facility as an inmate firefighter, and who is eligible to earn one day of credit for every one day of incarceration, instead eligible to earn 2 days of credit for every one day served in that assignment or after completing that training.
This bill would require the above-described inmate firefighters, in addition to receiving credits, to be paid an hourly wage equal to the lowest nonincarcerated firefighter in the state for the time that they are actively
fighting a fire.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 4019.2 of the Penal Code is amended to read:4019.2.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, any inmate sentenced to county jail assigned to a conservation camp by a sheriff and who is eligible to earn one day of credit for every one day of incarceration pursuant to Section 4019 shall instead earn two days of credit for every one day of service.(b) Notwithstanding any other law, any inmate who has completed training for assignment to a conservation camp or to a state or county facility as an inmate firefighter or who is assigned to a county or state correctional institution as an inmate firefighter and who is eligible to earn one day of credit for every one day of incarceration pursuant to Section 4019 shall instead earn two days of credit for every one day served in that assignment or after completing that training.
(c) In addition to the credits received pursuant to subdivision (b), inmate firefighters shall be paid an hourly wage equal to the lowest nonincarcerated firefighter wage in the State of California for the time that they are actively fighting a fire. The lowest firefighter wage shall be updated annually.
(c)
(d) In addition to credits granted pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b), inmates who have successfully completed training for firefighter assignments shall receive a credit reduction from his or her
their term of confinement.
(d)
(e) The credits authorized in subdivisions (b) and (c) (d) shall only apply to inmates who are eligible after October 1, 2011.
