Overview

• Gov. Gavin Newsom signed five bills from the seven-bill Firefighting to Freedom effort, headlined by AB247 setting pay at the federal minimum wage during active fires.
• The package includes AB799 creating a $50,000 death benefit, AB812 on resentencing referrals, AB952 making a youth camp program permanent, and SB245 speeding expungement.
• The wage increase is funded by about $10 million in the state budget, and the new laws take effect immediately.
• Author Isaac Bryan originally proposed $19 per hour; the final measure won bipartisan support but drew opposition from the California State Sheriffs’ Association over costs and sentence-credit practices.
• California fields more than 1,800 incarcerated firefighters in 35 minimum-security camps across 25 counties, performing hazardous hand-crew wildfire work on a voluntary basis, while two related proposals, including AB1380 on post-release hiring pathways, did not pass.