Newsom Signs Bill Allowing Former Inmates To Become Firefighters

SACRAMENTO, CA — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Friday that will finally allow former prisoners to pursue a career in fire. The new legislation arrived while fire crews were overwhelmed, facing multiple devastating lightning complex fires across California.

AB 2147, authored by Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes, will allow nonviolent offenders, who have logged time in fire camps while incarcerated, an opportunity to have their records expunged upon release, allowing them to become firefighters.

“This legislation rights a historic wrong and recognizes the sacrifice of thousands of incarcerated people who have helped battle wildfires in our state, and I would like to thank the Legislature for passing this bill,” Newsom said in a news release Friday.

Released inmates who have successfully petitioned a judge to expunge their records and waive parole time, will also have the ability to apply for an emergency medical technician's license.

"If we really want to bring about change and lower our recidivism rates, we have to ensure that those that have served their sentences have an opportunity for meaningful employment," Reyes tweeted Sunday. "Those that have served on the fire lines deserve a second chance."

Previously, California law has instructed emergency service agencies to deny EMT certification to anyone who has been convicted of two or more felonies, is on parole or probation or has committed any kind of felony within the last decade.

For decades, thousands of inmates, who exhibit "good behavior" while behind bars, have opted to join the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations's fire camps, where they act as a hand crew, often the first team on the scene of a fire.

While these inmate crews receive the same training as California's seasonal firefighters and do much of the same work, digging fire lines and even fighting fires — they are only paid between $2 and $5 a day, plus $1 per hour while fighting an actual fire.

Reyes has pushed for this bill to pass for several years now, only gaining real traction in yet another catastrophic fire season, which has collectively burned 1.48 million acres and resulted in eight fatalities.

Hundreds took to Twitter last week and through the weekend to urge lawmakers to pass the bill, which would aid overrun fire crews in California, among them was the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Thank you to all of our firefighters and first responders, including our incarcerated men and women fighting the current California wildfires," The Los Angeles Lakers tweeted Friday. "Human rights are everyone’s rights. Create a pathway for former inmates who successfully completed fire camp while incarcerated."

#AB2147 by my colleague @AsmReyes47 creates an expedited expungement process for inmate firefighters so, once released, they can more ably pursue a career in firefighting. The women & men inmates fighting fires have earned the opportunity for a career in service once released! pic.twitter.com/YhkmNBq4GO
— Ash Kalra (@Ash_Kalra) August 29, 2020

SEE ALSO: 19 Dead; 3.1M Acres Burned; 3,900 Structures Lost: CA Fires Map