FRESNO, CA (KMJ) — California’s inmate firefighters now have a shot at becoming a professional firefighter when they get out.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB2147 into law on Friday.
Record breaking temperatures. Record droughts.
We’re in a CLIMATE CRISIS.
And what we’re experiencing in California is coming to every community — all across the United States of America — unless we get our act together on climate change. pic.twitter.com/BulCzB7tKs
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 11, 2020
The law allows state and county inmates who train as firefighters to seek to erase their criminal records.
Inmate firefighters have for years fought dangerous wildfires in California alongside professional firefighters.
After serving their sentences, these people have had difficulty putting those skills to use because of the existing laws.
AB 2147 will make it easier for them to become professional firefighters in California.
CA’s inmate firefighter program is decades-old and has long needed reform.
Inmates who have stood on the frontlines, battling historic fires should not be denied the right to later become a professional firefighter.
Today, I signed #AB2147 that will fix that. pic.twitter.com/15GJ7Gijt7
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 11, 2020
