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Senate committee advances Ashby bill to extend workers’ comp protections to Sacramento County park rangers
Summary
The Senate Labor Committee voted to pass SB 8 as amended, a measure by Sen. Susan Ashby to extend workers’ compensation and disability protections to Sacramento County park rangers. Supporters said county rangers perform law‑enforcement duties comparable to other peace officers; no organized opposition testified.
Senate Bill 8, authored by Sen. Susan Ashby, moved out of the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee Wednesday after a 3–0 recorded committee vote to pass as amended to the Senate floor.
The bill would extend workers’ compensation and disability protections to Sacramento County park rangers, aligning county rangers’ benefits with protections available to state park rangers and other peace officers under the California Labor Code. Ashby told the committee the change narrows a broader bill from last year to focus on Sacramento County at the request of local stakeholders.
Why it matters: Supporters said county park rangers perform many of the same public safety functions as sworn police officers — including arrests, search and rescue, water rescue and wildfire response — but currently lack the same disability and workers’ compensation protections. Advocates said the city and county park systems have seen rising encounters with unhoused encampments, violent incidents, narcotics and overdoses that increase on‑the‑job risk.
Randy Bickel, president of the Sacramento County Criminal Justice Employees Union, testified the county rangers “attend the same standardized police academies and certified police officer training through the Peace Officer Standards and Training of California,” and urged committee support. He said rangers “are the emergency first responders that provide safety for our park patrons” and described on‑the‑job injuries he witnessed while serving as a park ranger sergeant.
No witnesses testified in opposition. The committee’s motion to pass SB 8 as amended was made by Sen. Strickland and seconded by Sen. Durazo. The roll call recorded three ayes (Smallwood Cuevas, Strickland, Durazo) at the time of the vote; the clerk recorded the bill “on call” following the vote.
The committee’s action does not itself change law; it advances the measure to the Senate floor where further amendments or votes may follow. The bill’s author told the committee she is taking committee amendments.
Supporting details and next steps: SB 8 is limited in this version to Sacramento County; Ashby said she narrowed last year’s broader proposal after negotiations with the governor’s office. Supporters referenced Labor Code provisions that govern peace‑officer disability benefits in their testimony and asked the committee to align county ranger protections with the statute that defines such disability benefits for peace officers.
A final fiscal or effective‑date timeline was not specified during the hearing.
