Senator proposes firefighter occupational-cancer presumption as amendment; chair rules proposal not germane

Senator Mike Werticamper introduced AM11:29 to LB608 to create a rebuttable presumption under Nebraska's workers' compensation law that certain cancers diagnosed in firefighters with five or more years of service are occupational diseases tied to line-of-duty exposures.

Werticamper described the proposal as modeled on existing law in other states and aimed at recruitment and retention: the amendment would cover both volunteer and career firefighters, require at least five years of service, allow rebuttal if a cancer resulted from non-occupational causes, and limit the presumption to cancers scientifically linked to known carcinogens firefighters encounter. He cited National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health studies and the International Association of Firefighters' finding that cancer was the leading cause of career line-of-duty deaths from 2002 to 2019.

Senator Hallstrom challenged the germaneness of AM11:29 to LB608. The chair ruled AM11:29 not germane to LB608. Senator Werticamper then moved to overrule the chair and argued the amendment was properly related to recruitment and retention provisions in the underlying bill; he said, "We can't get people to come do the job" and framed the change as a balanced workers' compensation approach. Senator Kautz supported the motion to overrule and described cancer risk in firefighting protective gear as a recruitment issue.

The transcript records the motion to overrule and extended debate but does not include the chair-overrule vote result before the chamber recessed. Sponsors and supporters said they would continue to pursue the policy and highlighted the recruitment and public-safety rationale for addressing occupational cancer presumptions.