County jails: wages.

Assembly Member Bryan, with principal coauthor Senator Becker, advances a measure that shifts how prisoners who work in county jails receive wage credits by replacing a fixed per-8-hour cap with a county-determined sum. Under current law, counties may credit each prisoner up to $2 for every eight hours of work performed; the bill would authorize the board of supervisors to credit each prisoner with a sum of money to be determined by the board when the prisoner is confined in or committed to a county jail and performs a work assignment.

The core change establishes a local, discretionary framework for determining the credit amount. The eligibility conditions remain that the prisoner must be confined in or committed to a county jail and must perform a work assignment, but the amount would be set by the board of supervisors rather than a uniform statewide cap. The bill does not specify how the sum is calculated (for example, whether it is per prisoner, per assignment, per shift, or per day), nor does it establish minimums, maximums, timing for disbursement, or the form of disbursement. It also does not address how these credits interact with other inmate financial obligations or with broader jail-finance practices. Enforcement would rely on existing county-level processes, with no new state enforcement mechanism described, and there is no state appropriation accompanying the measure.

The proposal introduces local control and potential variability across counties in how prisoner wage credits are valued and used. Counties would determine budgetary impacts within their own fiscal frameworks, potentially affecting jail operating costs and administrative workload for tracking and administering credits. The bill leaves open questions about transparency, consistency, and reporting, as well as how credits are treated in relation to fines, restitution, or other obligations. Absent a statewide standard or guidance, disparities could emerge in how credits are awarded and managed across California’s counties, with implementation details left to county policies and practices.