AB 816

Current law provides that the Department of Corrections sets the rate of pay

for inmates working in state correctional institutions and the Prison Industries

Board sets wages for inmates employed by the Bureau of Correctional Enterprises.

Under current law, BCE employees may be paid an hourly rate plus an incentive

wage based on productivity in some instances, but wages may not be set at a rate that

would cause a deficit on operations.

The bill provides that all inmates and residents that perform labor must be paid

a wage, and in addition to the standards under current law, provides that no inmate

or resident of a state correctional institution may be paid a wage that is less than the

rate for tipped workers, which is currently $2.33 per hour. The bill removes the

provision that wages may not be set at a rate that would cause a deficit on operations.

The bill increases all wages established by the Prison Industries Board for

payment to inmates employed by BCE by $2.33 on the effective date of the bill.

The bill provides that any prisoner in a county jail or county work camp must

be paid a wage that is not less than the rate for tipped workers, which is currently

$2.33 per hour.

The bill also provides to DOC $58,933,600 in fiscal year 2023-24 and

$88,400,400 in fiscal year 2024-25 to pay the wages of inmates in state correctional

institutions and $873,300 in fiscal year 2023-24 and $1,310,000 in fiscal year

2024-25 to pay the wages of inmates engaged in labor under BCE.