SB 230 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Workers' compensation: firefighters.

Summary

Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system, administered by the Administrative Director of the Division of Workers' Compensation, to compensate an employee, as defined, for injuries sustained in the course of employment. Existing law creates a rebuttable presumption that specified injuries, such as cancer or post-traumatic stress disorder, developed or manifested in the course of employment of a specified member of law enforcement or a specified first responder arose out of and in the course of employment. Existing law makes these provisions applicable to certain active firefighting members, including active firefighting members of a fire department that serves a United States Department of Defense installation or active firefighting members of a fire department that serves a National Aeronautics and Space Administration installation. This bill would, for injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2026, additionally apply these provisions to active firefighting members of a fire department that provides fire protection to a commercial airport, as specified. Existing law creates a rebuttable presumption that other injuries, including pneumonia, tuberculosis, or meningitis, developed or manifested in the course of employment of a specified member of law enforcement or a specified first responder arose out of and in the course of employment. Existing law makes these provisions applicable to certain active firefighting members, including volunteers who are partly paid or fully paid by, among others, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection or a county forestry or firefighting unit. The bill would, for injuries occurring on or after January 1, 2026, also apply these provisions to active firefighting members of a fire department that provides fire protection to a commercial airport, National Aeronautics and Space Administration installation, or United States Department of Defense installation.

Issues: ✓ Labor & Employment

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Jul 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Assembly Passage

Sep 2025

Signed into Law

Oct 2025

Introduced Jan 28, 2025 Signed Oct 6, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 5 comparisons

What changed between versions

10/06/25 - Chaptered → SB230 · 3 edits

MINOR

This diff reflects a change in document format rather than substantive policy. The bill text was converted from the official chaptered legislative document (with page numbers, chapter headers, and formal formatting) to a web-based display version that includes website navigation elements. The actual legislative content of SB 230 - extending workers' compensation presumptions to active firefighting members of commercial airport fire departments for injuries on or after January 1, 2026 - is unchanged between the two versions.

TECHNICAL

The document was reformatted from the official chaptered bill layout (with page numbers like '95', chapter markers like 'Ch. 404', and formal headers) to a web-based presentation that includes navigation menus, search tools, and website UI elements such as 'skip to content,' 'Bill Information,' 'Compare Versions,' and 'Track Bill.'

Formal legislative document elements were removed, including the 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' header, page numbers, and chapter formatting markers.

Website interface elements were added, including navigation links (home, accessibility, FAQ, feedback, sitemap, login), search functionality, bill tracking tools, and a publication date stamp of 10/07/2025.

01/28/25 - Introduced → 03/04/25 - Amended Senate · 4 edits · Mar 4, 2025

MODERATE

The amended version dramatically expands the bill's scope from a single-section amendment (adding airport firefighters to the cancer presumption in Section 3212.1) to a comprehensive amendment of seven Labor Code sections that extends all workers' compensation presumptions - including cancer, PTSD, hernia/heart trouble/pneumonia, tuberculosis, blood-borne disease/MRSA, biochemical substance exposure, and meningitis - to firefighters at Department of Defense installations, NASA installations, and FAA-regulated commercial airports. This matters because it ensures these three categories of firefighters receive the same presumptive coverage for work-related injuries as local government firefighters across every presumption category, not just cancer.

SCOPE

The bill now amends Sections 3212, 3212.15, 3212.6, 3212.8, 3212.85, and 3212.9 in addition to Section 3212.1, extending the presumption of work-related injury for hernia, heart trouble, pneumonia, PTSD, tuberculosis, blood-borne infectious disease/MRSA, biochemical substance exposure, and meningitis to DoD installation firefighters, NASA installation firefighters, and commercial airport firefighters.

The legislative digest was rewritten to reflect that the bill now applies presumptions for both cancer/PTSD and other injuries (pneumonia, tuberculosis, meningitis) to airport, DoD, and NASA installation firefighters, rather than only addressing the cancer presumption.

ELIGIBILITY

Active firefighting members of fire departments serving U.S. Department of Defense installations (certified by DoD), NASA installations (adhering to Health and Safety Code training standards), and FAA-regulated commercial airports (trained and certified by the State Fire Marshal) are now eligible for all workers' compensation presumptions, not just the cancer presumption.

TECHNICAL

The FAA regulation citation was corrected from 'Section 139.5' to 'Section 139.1' in multiple sections (3212.15, 3212.6, 3212.8, 3212.85, and 3212.9), though Section 3212.1 retains 'Section 139.5' - this appears to be a partial correction of the Part 139 starting section reference.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 1, 2025 · Assembly Sep 3, 2025

How they voted

39–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 40

Apr 1, 2025

D Democratic30

29 Yea 1

96% Yea

R Republican10

10 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Oct 6, 2025

Signed into law

Approved by the Governor.

legislature

Sep 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 2512.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

upper

Sep 3, 2025

Introduced

In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

upper

Sep 3, 2025

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 2863.) Ordered to the Senate.

lower

Aug 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

Read third time and amended.

lower

Jul 9, 2025

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (July 9).

lower

May 12, 2025

Committee

Referred to Com. on INS.

lower

Apr 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 604.) Ordered to the Assembly.

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 567.) (March 26).

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on L., P.E. & R.

upper

Feb 5, 2025

Committee

Referred to Com. on L., P.E. & R.

upper

Jan 28, 2025

Introduced

Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

upper

1 primary · 4 co-sponsors