Senate committee backs change to guarantee health, dental and vision coverage for families of officers killed in line of duty

The Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Standing Committee on Oct. 12 favorably recommended a first substitute to Senate Bill 255 to ensure surviving spouses of law-enforcement officers killed in the line of duty retain the health benefits the officer had at the time of death.

Senator John Owens, the bill's sponsor, told the committee the measure is meant to remove ambiguity about what "health care" covers and to ensure families continue to receive whatever benefits the officer had at death, including dental and vision. "If you just say health care, then, sometimes that doesn't mean dental, medical, vision," Owens said.

Chief Rod Hurst of Santaquin City, who brought the need for the bill to Owens after his department lost an officer last year, described the local cost and the practical gap the bill aims to fix. He told the committee…