SACRAMENTO – Democratic Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) teamed up with Republican Assemblymember Kevin Jeffries (R-Lake Elsinore) to solve a Department of Motor Vehicle licensing problem that had grounded many rural firefighters, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed their jointly authored, bipartisan bill into law.

“AB 1648 removes a bureaucratic barrier at DMV that had made it very difficult for rural fire departments to license their firefighters to drive heavy equipment,” Chesbro said. “You had situations where firefighters could not respond to fires because they were not licensed to drive fire engines. Rural fire departments had to send two firefighters sometimes hundreds of miles on a round trip to a DMV office and take a vital piece of equipment out of service for an entire day just to license one firefighter. This situation was unacceptable and I heard about it from many chiefs of rural fire departments all over the First Assembly District. I’m grateful Assemblymember Jeffries joined me to craft a legislative solution, which the governor has now approved.”

AB 1648 allows firefighters who already possess a Class C license to earn a “Firefighter Endorsement” that authorizes them to drive fire equipment after completing 30 hours of classroom and behind-the-wheel training under supervision of a qualified fire chief.

“To complete the process, firefighters will still have to submit to the DMV their health questionnaires and written documentation from the fire chiefs who trained them and pass a written test," Chesbro said. “But it eliminates the requirement of having an already licensed firefighter also travel to a distant DMV office. It put too many rural communities at risk to have personnel and equipment taken out of service for an entire day, especially during fire season.”

Both houses of the Legislature approved AB 1648 without a “no” vote and the governor signed it on Sept. 29. It takes effect on Jan. 1, 2011.