A California Assembly labor committee advanced AB 2499 on April 22 after hearing testimony about extreme heat conditions in correctional facilities, including a rehab therapist working in a 93-degree room without ventilation and staff working through 109-degree heat at Valley State Prison.
The bill would direct Cal/OSHA to adopt a heat illness standard for correctional facilities and block the agency from adopting a weaker rule, according to the committee hearing materials and testimony. Supporters included labor and prisoner-advocacy groups, which argued that prison employees need workplace protections tailored to the conditions inside state facilities.
The committee moved the measure on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The available materials do not include the vote tally or indicate whether the bill was amended before passage out of committee.
The hearing was part of a broader labor agenda that also included other workforce and safety bills, but AB 2499 drew the most pointed testimony about prison conditions and Cal/OSHA’s role in setting standards for correctional-facility workers.