CA SB 75

Author: Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Employment: Preapprenticeship Pathways to Employment Pilot Program.
07/16/2025 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (July 15). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
SB 75, as amended, Smallwood-Cuevas. Employment: Preapprenticeship Pathways to Employment Pilot Program. Existing law provides for various employment programs to assist formerly incarcerated individuals in finding and retaining employment, including the Pre-Release Construction Trades Certificate Program administered by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Prison to Employment Program administered by the California Workforce Development Board.Existing law establishes the California Workforce Development Board as the body responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California’s workforce investment system and the alignment of the education and workforce investment systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and workforce.This bill would, subject to an appropriation and until January 1, 2030, require the board to establish a Reentry Pilot Project in the Counties of Alameda, Los Angeles, and San Diego to provide workforce training and transitional support to formerly incarcerated individuals committed to careers in the skilled trades. The bill would require the board to designate a qualified nonprofit organization in each pilot county for specified duties, including the management and monitoring of funds. The bill would require a qualified nonprofit organization to provide certain stipends to eligible participants, including a transportation stipend to ensure accessibility to training and employment sites. The bill would require apprenticeship training that is affiliated with a union to be defrayed by underwriting 25% of the total cost per participant. The bill would require the board to evaluate the program based on specified outcomes and submit a report to the Legislature, no later than 6 months following the conclusion of the pilot project, assessing the pilot project’s effectiveness and feasibility for statewide expansion.This bill would, by January 1, 2028, require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in partnership with the Department of Industrial Relations, to establish the Preapprenticeship Pathways to Employment Pilot Program. The bill would, until January 1, 2032, provide incarcerated individuals access to preapprenticeship training in the skilled construction and building trades. The bill would require the program to provide, among other things, instruction based on the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum and content coordinated with joint apprenticeship training committees. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to implement the program at one men’s facility and one women’s facility. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, beginning January 1, 2029, to annually report certain data regarding participation in the program to the Legislature.

CA SB 423

Author: Lola Smallwood-Cuevas
Inmate firefighters: postsecondary education: enhanced firefighter training and certification program: local handcrew pilot program.
07/15/2025 - From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (July 14). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
SB 423, as amended, Smallwood-Cuevas. Inmate firefighters: postsecondary education: enhanced firefighter training and certification program: local handcrew pilot program. Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Under existing law, the board of governors appoints a chief executive officer, who is known as the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to enter into an interagency agreement to expand access to community college courses that lead to degrees or certificates that result in enhanced workforce skills or transfer to a 4-year university.This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2028, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to expand access to community college courses that lead to degrees and certificates in specified subjects including, among other subjects, fire science, for individuals serving in California Conservation Corps handcrews or institutional firehouses, as provided.Existing law establishes in the Natural Resources Agency the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and requires the department to be responsible for, among other things, fire protection and prevention, as provided. Existing law establishes the California Conservation Corps and requires the corps to implement and administer various training and educational programs, including the California Conservation Camp program. Under existing law, incarcerated persons in the California Conservation Camp program work on projects supervised by the department. Existing law requires the department to use incarcerated persons assigned to conservation camps in performing fire prevention, fire control, and other work at the department.This bill would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the department, in collaboration with the California Conservation Corps and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, to operate an enhanced firefighter training and certification program at the Ventura Training Center in the County of Ventura, or its successor facility.The bill would authorize, upon appropriation by the Legislature, the fire chief of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department to establish the Local Handcrew Pilot Program for 5 years and would authorize the fire chief to enroll in the pilot program formerly incarcerated individuals who have successfully completed specified programs, training, or work. The bill would require the fire chief to develop metrics for evaluating the efficacy and success of the pilot program, to evaluate the efficacy and success of the pilot program using those metrics, and to report the findings of the evaluation to the Legislature and the Governor, as provided. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Ventura Training Center in the County of Ventura.