Committee approves AB 247 to raise pay for incarcerated wildfire hand crews to federal minimum wage

The California State Assembly Appropriations Committee voted 9-0 on June 3, 2025, to pass AB 247, a bill that would require incarcerated hand crew members who actively fight wildfires to be paid at least the federal minimum wage.

The measure, presented to the committee by Assemblymember Bridal, aims to ensure “nobody fighting a wildfire gets paid less than the federal minimum wage,” Bridal said during the hearing. The committee approved the bill after brief questions and discussion about cost, annual adjustment mechanisms and who would bear the expense.

AB 247 was amended before the hearing to explicitly include the Pine Grove Conservation Camp after concerns that the camp might be omitted. Bridal told members earlier in the hearing that initial fiscal analysis had estimated pay parity at roughly $19 an hour — a figure tied to nonincarcerated wildfire…