After Two-Year Fight, Gov. Newsom Signs Landmark Bill for Incarcerated Firefighter Career Pathways
AB 2483 turns frontline firefighting training and experience into pathways to careers, honoring service and bolstering CA firefighting force
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2483 into law today, delivering a landmark victory for incarcerated firefighters and public safety by creating a clear pathway for people who protect California communities on the fireline while incarcerated to continue that service as a career after release.
Authored by Assemblymember Sade Elhawary (D-57) and co-sponsored by the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, Prosecutors Alliance Action, and Michelson Center for Public Policy, AB 2483 recognizes that when California trains and relies on incarcerated firefighters to perform dangerous, skilled work protecting communities, that training and experience should not disappear when they come home.
The new law ensures eligible incarcerated firefighters receive official documentation of their training, provides a hiring preference for qualified formerly incarcerated applicants seeking CAL FIRE Fire Fighter 1 positions, and allows qualifying training and fieldwork to count toward minimum qualifications for Forestry Technician positions.
The victory caps a two-year advocacy fight led by Assemblymember Elhawary, who renewed the effort this year after predecessor bill AB 1380 stalled in Appropriations in 2025.
“With Governor Newsom’s signature, California is saying clearly that service matters, experience matters, and people deserve a real opportunity to turn the skills they earned into a career,” said Assemblymember Sade Elhawary. “I am deeply grateful to the formerly incarcerated firefighters who shared their stories, to the advocates who stayed in this fight for two years, and to every legislator who helped us finally get this done. Today, we are honoring their service not just with words, but with opportunity.”
AB 2483 ultimately passed the Senate unanimously, 40-0, before receiving final Assembly approval without a single opposing vote.
The law comes as incarcerated firefighters remain an integral part of California’s emergency response infrastructure. In 2025 alone, incarcerated hand crews contributed nearly half of the state’s total emergency response hours, working alongside professional firefighters to protect lives, homes, and communities from wildfires and other disasters. Yet for years, the individuals who completed intensive training and performed demanding frontline work while incarcerated have returned home without documentation or certification that fully captures that experience and without a straightforward way to translate it into employment.
“California already entrusts incarcerated firefighters with enormous responsibility. They train, work on the frontlines, and help protect our communities during some of the state’s most dangerous emergencies,” said Mayra Lombera, Chief Policy Officer, Michelson Center for Public Policy. “AB 2483 ensures California does not squander that training, talent, and experience when people return home, while advancing criminal justice reform, workforce development, and wildfire resilience in a practical and meaningful way. It honors service with opportunity, supports successful reentry, and helps build the experienced firefighting workforce California needs. After years of work, and thanks to the extraordinary persistence and leadership of Assemblymember Elhawary and our fellow co-sponsors, we are incredibly proud to see this principle become California law.”
By recognizing the training and field experience of incarcerated firefighters after release, AB 2483 is an investment in public safety at both ends of the equation. It strengthens California’s pipeline of experienced firefighters while expanding access to stable careers that can support successful reentry, economic mobility, and safer communities.
“This victory is personal for me. I know what it feels like to fight fires while incarcerated, come home with real training and real experience, and then discover how difficult it is to turn that experience into a career,” said Royal Ramey, Co-Founder and CEO of the Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program. “Today changes that. AB 2483 tells incarcerated firefighters that the work they did matters and that their hard-earned skills and experience count. We did not give up when this effort fell short last year because we knew what was at stake. There are people in fire camps right now who want to build a different future and continue protecting their communities when they come home. This law gives them a clearer opportunity to do exactly that.”
“This is a win for our firefighters, a win for their families and a win for a state that needs experienced people ready to meet the growing threat of wildfires,” said Cristine Soto DeBerry, Executive Director of Prosecutors Alliance Action. “Public safety is not just about what happens inside the justice system. It is also about what opportunities people have when they come home. Stable employment, purpose, and a genuine chance to build a future are essential to successful reentry and safer communities. AB 2483 creates a pathway that fixes a longstanding failure of basic fairness and recognition in California. We are proud to have fought for this bill alongside Assemblymember Elhawary and our partners, and proud to see that work become law.”
AB 2483 will require CAL FIRE, in partnership with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the California Conservation Camp program, to establish the standardized certification process beginning July 1, 2027. Beginning January 1, 2028, qualified formerly incarcerated applicants will receive the hiring and experience recognition established under the law.
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Michelson Center for Public Policy (MCPP) is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit advocacy organization affiliated with Michelson Philanthropies, a foundation devoted to expanding equity and access across medical research, animal welfare, education, and intellectual property. MCPP advances policy and legislative solutions that support these priorities. In collaboration with policymakers, advocacy organizations, and civic leaders, it works to expand opportunity for underserved communities across California and beyond. Learn more at michelsonpolicy.org.
The Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program (FFRP) is a nonprofit organization that provides career support to formerly incarcerated firefighters and those currently incarcerated in California’s Conservation Camps; who are interested in careers in the Wildland and Forestry sector. FFRP was developed in direct response to the growing need for wildfire-related personnel. Our mission is to increase wildfire personnel from non-traditional and underrepresented communities, providing them the training, skills, resources, and experience needed to secure gainful employment. https://www.forestryfirerp.org/
Prosecutors Alliance Action mobilizes prosecutors and voters to fight for a fair and humane justice system rooted in community trust and free from abuses of power. For more information, visit www.prosecutorsallianceaction.org.
