Push To Pay Inmate Firefighters Hourly Wage
Sacramento, CA — A proposal took an early step in the California Assembly Public Safety Committee that would require incarcerated firefighters to receive a fair working wage.
Under existing law, a prisoner can reduce their term by earning credits for serving in fire programs. In addition, they can make a minimal amount of money, typically ranging from $5-$10 per day.
Assembly Bill 247 would require inmate firefighters to receive double the current credit for serving in fire programs and receive “an hourly wage equal to the lowest nonincarcerated firefighter in the state for the time that they are actively fighting a fire.”
It passed its first significant hurdle this week, being approved with bipartisan support, 8-0-1, with one Assemblymember absent.
The bill’s lead author, Democrat Isaac Bryan, says, “They have saved our state (incarcerated firefighters) time and again, and it’s time we show our gratitude with a wage that respects their humanity and heroism.”
Bryan, who is from Los Angeles, says the recent Southern California fires showed the importance of inmate fire crews.
A financial impact is that the bill is expected to increase the price that counties and municipalities that use the inmate crews would pay to have them assist on incidents.
