Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill to allow inmate firefighters to work professionally after serving prison time

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Friday afternoon to reform California's inmate firefighter program.

"Inmates who have stood on the frontlines, battling historic fires should not be denied the right to later become a professional firefighter," Gov. Newsom said on Twitter after signing the assembly bill into law.

The bill paves the way for California inmates who've worked on the frontlines of wildfires to work professionally as a firefighter once they've successfully completed their prison time.

CAL FIRE trains minimum security prison inmates and pays them $1 per hour...