Sacramento – In the January fire, wind and suffocating smoke destroyed Altadena and Pacific Palisades, with more than 1,100 incarcerated firefighters clearing their brushes and digging fire lines, some paying less than $30 a day.
Those firefighters may soon see a major pay raise. On Thursday, California lawmakers unanimously approved a plan to pay incarcerated firefighters a federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour while being allocated to proactive fires, an increase of more than 700%.
Before Thursday’s vote, the bill’s author D-Los Angeles called Isaac Bryan, “No one puts his life into practice.”
Brian’s legislation, General Assembly Act 247if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs, it will take effect immediately. Newsom’s office said he wouldn’t normally comment on pending legislation. But in July, he signed the budget for $10 million Firefighters pay for imprisonment.
Working in one of the state’s 35 minimum safety fire camps is a voluntary and coveted effort that gives inmates the opportunity to spend time outside the prison walls, help their communities and parole faster.
Instead of swinging the hose, the incarcerated firefighters clear brushes and dig up the curb lines while the frontline manual crew is working and do work like cooking and laundry to keep the fire camp running.
Prison firefighters sometimes form more than a quarter of firefighters fighting California wildfires and have received international praise during the main wildfire season. Celebrity Kim Kardashian after fire in Los Angeles in January Call them “heroesWho should pay a raise?
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the state’s 2,000 incarcerated firefighters earn $5.80 to $10.24 a day at the fire camp, an additional $1 an hour during active wildfires. This means the lowest firefighter earns $29.80 per 24-hour shift, with the highest salary, at $34.24.
Supporters say higher wages are not only a key way to recognize life-threatening donations made by incarcerated firefighters, but can also help inmates save some savings before parole, or compensate victims faster.
Republican lawmakers who support the plan emphasize the search for the essence of life in a meaningful way.
“When we talk about anti-recoveryism, when we talk about effective programs, it’s one of the absolute best shows,” said Heath Flora (R-Ripon).
Flora said he worked with volunteer firefighters for 15 years with incarcerated and previously incarcerated firefighters and said they were “the hardest-working people I’m happy to work with.”
Bryan initially offered a salary of $19 an hour, similar to what entry-level firefighters earned in California’s Forestry and Fire Department. In summer budget negotiations, the salary was trimmed to $7.25.
Lobbyists for the California Sheriffs Association, which opposes the bill, told lawmakers in July that incarcerated firefighters have “get compensation in different ways.” Prison workers assigned to artifacts have reduced sentences by two days, serving in active fires.
State Sen. Kelly Siato (R-Murrieta), who co-sponsored the bill, warned in July that paying higher wages could lead to hiring fewer incarcerated firefighters.
The cost of the state will depend on the number of staff and the severity of the fire season.
According to a bill analysis by lawmakers, prisoners firefighters hit fires at $1 an hour from 2020 to 2024. Analysts say if the five fire seasons hit federal minimum wage, the state would pay about $10 million in wages, about $8.6 million.
More fire activity will be more expensive for the country. In 2020, the largest wildfire season in modern history, the state spent about $2.1 million on inmate firefighters’ wages at $1 an hour, which would cost $15 million under the new billing language.
The bill has been working for years to help improve the working conditions of prisoners’ firefighters.
this Number of prisoners engaged in firefighters Since 2005, the peak of about 4,250 was more than half that year Less than 2,000 this yearaccording to the Correctional Department.
That number dropped sharply after the California policy known as the reorganization in 2011, which sentenced many convicted members to driverless, nonviolent and non-sexual crimes from California prisons.
Californians who convicted felony were released from prison for ten years after they refused to obtain certification from an emergency medical technician or EMT. For those convicted of two or more felony crimes, there is a life ban.
In 2020, Newsom signed a bill that allows previously incarcerated firefighters to be convicted Non-violent, non-sexual crime The Court of Appeals is to delete its criminal record and to waive parole time.
The Legislature has also passed this week AB 218by Congress Bishops Josh Lovingtal (D-Long Beach) and Sade Elhawary (D-Los Angeles), this will require prison officials to draft rules by 2027, recommending incarcerated firefighters to review it.
In the last week of the year, the Legislature is still waiting for some other bills on fire issues. These include:
- AB 226, This will allow the California Fair Plan, the state’s last resort, to improve its ability to pay claims by issuing bonds or seeking lines of credit.
- AB 1032, This will require health insurance companies to hold 12 visits each year with licensed behavioral health providers, including mental health and substance abuse consultants, to serve residents affected by wildfires.
