Following the January wildfires that tore through Los Angeles County, there was renewed interest in making sure California is adequately staffed with firefighters to prevent such disastrous events, or to combat them at any given moment, in the future.

State legislators rushed to introduce bills, including ones to make seasonal Cal Fire firefighters year-round employees and to increase pay for incarcerated firefighters.

But as officials brace for tough financial times ahead, the harsh realities of a cash-strapped state could make it harder to bolster the firefighter workforce and increase pay, both of which come with price tags.

On Wednesday, May 14, Gov. Gavin Newsom released his revised budget proposal, which showed a $12 billion shortfall for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Over the next several weeks, legislative leaders will meet with the governor to negotiate a spending plan for the state, which in turn will determine if money is available to fund various legislative bills.

Until then, the fate of hundreds of bills that would cost the state money to enact may sit in limbo, relegated to the Senate or Assembly appropriations committees’ so-called “suspense files.”

A “suspense file” is essentially a place for legislators to park a bill that could be costly, allowing them to hold off on deciding whether to advance the proposal until they get a better sense of how the budget is shaping up. It can also be a convenient way for legislators to let a bill they don’t like, or one that’s controversial, languish and die due to inaction.

Two bills that would make more firefighters available year-round are sitting in that very limbo, in these suspense files.

Bill proponents say that with climate change, wildfires are no longer a seasonal occurrence in California, and the state should have more firefighters working year-round. This would also allow more crew members to be available to clear brush and perform other tasks to prevent fires from erupting in the first place, they say.

SB 581, the Fight for Firefighters Act championed by state Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-North Coast, to transition about 3,000 seasonal Cal Fire firefighters to year-round employees, recently got routed to the Senate Appropriations Committee’s suspense file.

Another bill called the Stop Laying Off Firefighters Act (AB 252), introduced by Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano, calls for maintaining Cal Fire’s “full staffing levels” year-round.

Cal Fire has more than 350 fully staffed fire engines during the summer, but nearly 200 engines are out of service in the winter months because of staff layoffs, according to a press release about AB 252.

Like McGuire’s bill, Bains’ bill has been placed in the suspense file — on the Assembly side — while state budget negotiations proceed.

McGuire’s bill is estimated to cost the state upward of $175 million annually, the Senate leader previously said.

A bill analysis of Bains’ proposal was more vague about the cost of implementation, but it said the cost would likely be in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

Tim Edwards, president of Cal Fire Local 2881, the union representing firefighters employed by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, believes the cost to implement SB 581 would be worth the investment.

“We believe $175 million from the state budget is not a whole lot when you think about trillions and billions of dollars lost in tax base, displacement, billions of dollars in destruction,” when there’s a fire, Edwards said. “We believe this is the right bill and the right time in California.”

But whether either bill moves forward remains to be seen.

McGuire and Bains did not respond to requests for comment about the likelihood of their bills becoming law this year, especially given the state’s financial situation.

And the governor’s office said it typically does not comment on pending legislation.

“If any of these measures reach the governor’s desk, he will evaluate them based on their merits,” spokesperson Daniel Villaseñor said in an email.

Support for inmate firefighters?

Other firefighter-related bills have also been moved to the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s suspense file.

AB 247, a bill by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, to increase pay for incarcerated firefighters, is one of them.

Inmates who voluntarily sign up for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Conservation (Fire) Camp Program and work as firefighters currently get paid $5.80 to $10.24 per day, and receive an extra $1 per hour when responding to an active emergency. Individuals at the lowest end of the pay scale earn $29.80 a day during an active emergency.

AB 247 would increase these firefighters’ pay to $19 an hour while they’re assigned to an active fire incident. The hourly wage rate would be updated annually.

During the January Southern California wildfires, hundreds of incarcerated firefighters, if not more, helped with firefighting efforts. That prompted social activists, including reality star Kim Kardashian, to demand better compensation for incarcerated firefighters.

But with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation estimating the wage increase would cost the state millions to tens of millions of dollars annually, according to the bill analysis, elected officials in Sacramento will have to decide if they want to fund the proposal.

“We are committed to ensuring all of the heroes who fight to protect people and their homes during wildfire season are paid justly for their bravery and service,” Bryan said in an emailed statement. “We are looking forward to the ongoing budget negotiations with the governor, who we know has long shared those values.”

Meanwhile, AB 812 by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, to allow an incarcerated firefighter to request a resentencing, is also in the suspense file.

The bill would require a court to hold a hearing to consider the inmate’s request.

A bill analysis accompanying AB 812 states the cost pressures to the court system could be “potentially significant,” noting that it typically costs about $1,000 to operate a courtroom for an hour.

The analysis also noted possible costs of millions of dollars annually to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation “to facilitate court appearances for incarcerated firefighters and in increased workload” — though there could be some future savings to the department if inmates are released early as a result of resentencing.

Some rank-and-file firefighters’ pay

Another bill in the suspense file, AB 1309, would require the state to pay rank-and-file Cal Fire firefighters represented by State Bargaining Unit 8 a salary that’s within 15% of the average salary for corresponding ranks, based on a list of 20 municipal or county fire departments throughout California. The bill was introduced by Assemblymember Heath Flora, R-Ripon, a volunteer firefighter.

The bill would cost approximately $373.4 million to $609.1 million in the first year of implementation and between $28 million and $114.6 million annually after that, according to a bill analysis for AB 1309.

Flora previously introduced a similar bill, AB 1254, which died in the last legislative session.