SACRAMENTO, CA – Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) released the following statement after her bill successfully passed the Senate Government Organization Committee. SB 577 allows the State Fire Marshal to accept additional funding sources for the California Fire Service Training and Education Program to help mitigate rising fees for those seeking fire training certification.

“I commend firefighters throughout California for their commitment to public safety, and want to ensure that the profession remains financially accessible for those wanting to undergo the training and certification necessary to become a firefighter in this state. Increased rains bring increased vegetation growth that translates into more fuel in the next fire season. The need for additional well-trained personnel has never been greater, and it is unfair that fire training is funded solely by student/user fees.”

Writing in support of the bill, the California Fire Chiefs Association wrote, “SB 577 takes a critical step to addressing training funding by permitting the State Fire Marshal to receive sources of training funding from sources other than user fees.  Various federal and state post disaster funding programs would now be eligible to be contributors to State Fire Training.  These new sources of funding are needed to continue to build courses to prepare for the accelerating threats facing California while also providing incentives to expand the training opportunities for a culturally diverse population to apply for entry-level certification and testing to become Firefighters 1 and 2 Certifications.   

The bill will next be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee on April 10, 2023.

Senator Melissa Hurtado currently represents the 16th Senate District in the California Legislature, which includes portions of Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Kern Counties. Hurtado is Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, and a member of the Environmental Quality, Health, Human Services, and Natural Resources and Water Committees, and Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies. 

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