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Sponsor urges extension and increase to line-of-duty death benefit in House hearing
Summary
Representative Phil Amato presented House Bill 365 to extend and increase the state's line-of-duty death benefit for first responders, and witnesses from law-enforcement and emergency services groups testified in support.
Representative Phil Amato, sponsor of House Bill 365, told the committee the bill would address Missouri's line-of-duty death benefit for first responders and urged restoring or increasing the benefit. "It's the line of duty compensation for first responders killed," Amato said, noting a previous $25,000 benefit and the sponsor's goal of raising the amount "to a hundred".
Amato said the immediate, high-priority concern is the bill's sunset: the current authorization expires in June and would require an emergency clause to take effect if not extended. He presented three options: restore a $100,000 benefit as passed previously by the House, adopt incremental increases (25k, 50k, 75k, 100k), or take no change while ensuring the sunset is addressed.
Witnesses representing public-safety organizations spoke in support. Jay Schroeder, president of the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police, told the committee support was widespread and offered a rough fiscal estimate: "I think roughly last year was around 350,000, give or take." He also named a Mid-Missouri assistance organization called Safety Net and referenced Backstoppers as a related nonprofit.
Jorgen Schleier of the Fire Service Alliance described the fiscal note: the program averages about eight people per year historically, which he said would equate to roughly $200,000 annually at $25,000 per case; last year's total was higher. Schleier also said the state benefit interacts with federal benefits under the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program: without the state benefit triggering, survivors could lose access to certain federal benefits.
Brent Timpillehi of the Missouri Ambulance Association also registered support for the bill.
Committee members asked technical questions: Representative Seitz asked about the CPI adjustment language on page 3 (the bill uses the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, CPI-U; a committee member noted the committee recently changed a statutory reference from "CPI-U" to a general "CPI" in another statute). Representative Hovis asked about timing for reporting earlier in the meeting and members discussed implementation and budget continuity.
No committee vote on House Bill 365 was recorded in the transcript; the hearing concluded after witness testimony.
