Synopsis: California's governor passed a bill, California bill AB2147, that will give prisoners battling the state's massive wildfires a chance to avoid a different battle after their release: That of finding a job. Criminal records are often a bar to employment. Gov. Gavin Newsom said he wants to give the prisoners a shot at becoming firefighters and that removing their criminal history will make that more possible. "California inmate firefighter program is decades-old and has long needed reform," Newsom said on Twitter. "Inmates who have stood on the front lines, battling historic fires should not be denied the right to later become a professional firefighter." The goal is to make it easier for them to have a firefighting career after release.
