Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed pay raises for the state’s firefighters months after the disastrous Los Angeles County fires that caused billions in damage.
Massive fires swept through Southern California in early January, burning thousands of acres across several cities and forcing hundreds to flee their homes. During the crisis, Newsom was criticized for his leadership. On Friday he released a letter to the California State Assembly stating that Assembly Bill 1309 would “create significant cost pressures for the state.”
“This bill would require the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to pay firefighters within 15 percent of the average salary for corresponding ranks in certain local fire departments. This measure would also require an annual survey of the salaries and benefits for fire chiefs in five specified fire departments,” Newsom wrote.
“While I appreciate the author’s intent, this bill would create significant cost pressures for the state and circumvent the collective bargaining process. State employee salaries, along with other components of compensation such as health and pension benefits, should be determined through collective bargaining,” Newsom added. “Establishing a statutory salary floor for employees of a single department undermines this process, to the detriment of both the state and other bargaining units.”
Assembly Bill 1309, introduced in February as a bipartisan measure by Republican California Assembly Member Heath Flora, sought to require the state to pay firefighters in State Bargaining Unit 8 — employed by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection — within 15% of the average salary for comparable ranks in 20 listed California fire departments.
The bill also would have required the Department of Human Resources, by Jan. 1, 2027, to conduct and report to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection a survey of the previous year’s salaries and benefits for fire chiefs in five designated California fire departments.
Following the fires that caused at least $250 billion in damage, both Newsom and Democratic Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faced heavy criticism from residents and Republican lawmakers. While officials promised to help residents return and rebuild, many have since spoken out about the slow pace of state assistance.
During a press conference with President Donald Trump and other state leaders in January, including Bass, Trump pushed back on the mayor, saying Pacific Palisades residents shouldn’t have to wait for government aid to repair their homes.
Despite roughly nine months passing since the disaster, residents continue to struggle with the slow pace of recovery. One Pacific Palisades resident told the Los Angeles Times in August that the process to return home has been far from straightforward, forcing her to navigate insurance adjusters, contractors, and testing specialists who have provided no clear answers.
In a September report from the consulting firm McChrystal Group on behalf of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the group found that Los Angeles County’s response to the fires was hampered by key factors including staffing shortages, outdated policies, inconsistent practices, and communication failures.
A Bay Area News Group analysis also found that the Los Angeles Fire Department has fewer than one firefighter per 1,000 residents — a staffing rate of just 0.90, according to GovTech. San Jose Fire Captain Jerry May told the outlet in January that his city not only has “the lowest staffing number out of all metropolitan cities in the United States” for “one of the busiest in the nation,” but is also “severely understaffed.”
In January, the state Senate Republican Caucus issued a press release highlighting GOP efforts to prevent such disasters, despite Newsom and Bass emphasizing their focus on recovery. According to the release, Republicans introduced 72 wildfire-related bills between 2003 and 2024 addressing the California Environmental Quality Act, insurance, public safety, tax relief, and wildfire prevention. Only 16 became law, while the rest failed, were suspended, or were vetoed by three governors, including Newsom.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/CNN)
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