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Committee raises line-of-duty death benefit to $250,000; highway payouts not retroactive
Summary
A joint committee passed HB 1293 to raise the state line-of-duty death benefit from $150,000 to $250,000 for firefighters, police, state troopers, first responders and highway workers; the Arkansas Department of Transportation said payments for highway employees would apply only to deaths after enactment, not retroactively.
Representative Andrews presented House Bill 1293 to the joint Public Retirement & Social Security Programs committee, asking the panel to increase the state line-of-duty death benefit for firefighters, police, state troopers, first responders and highway employees.
"So what we're doing is increasing the line of death duty benefit. We have men and women who put their selves in line every single day. Firefighters, first responders, police officers, state troopers, and this bill also is adding, our highway department workers does well. People who serve our state, our communities, and expect to go home to their families every night. But unfortunately, life happens, and they don't always get to go home," Representative Andrews said.
The bill raises the maximum benefit from $150,000 to $250,000. Andrews told the committee the benefit level has not been adjusted in more than a decade and that actuary material attached to the bill showed an average of about 5.5 claims per year over the past decade. He framed the increase as extra financial support for survivors, not full compensation.
Senator Boyd asked whether the bill would create retroactive eligibility for deaths occurring after Jan. 1, 2003, noting existing statutory language references that date. Committee members sought clarification about whether past highway employee claims would become payable under the new amount.
Jared Wiley, director of the Arkansas Department of Transportation, told the committee the highway department would not make retroactive payments: the department's payments would apply from the time the bill becomes law forward for highway employees.
With no members signed in to speak against the bill and one supporter waving off, Representative Andrews closed and moved to pass HB 1293. A second was recorded but not named in the transcript. The motion carried by voice vote; a roll-call tally was not recorded in the committee minutes.
The committee did not change retirement-system benefit formulas; Andrews said the change does not alter the underlying retirement systems and that costs are split between state claims and the relevant agency.
HB 1293 was passed by the committee and will proceed according to the legislative calendar.
