Senate committee OKs limited filing window for COVID-related line-of-duty indemnification in SB 56

The Senate Committee on Insurance and Labor voted to pass Senate Bill 56 on a motion by Senator Robertson with a second from Senator Kirkpatrick, approving a narrowly drawn measure that would allow certain public safety officers or their survivors to seek indemnification for COVID-19 diagnoses that occurred on or before April 15, 2022.

Senator Anna Vittardi, who presented the bill (LC 394428), said the measure grew out of a family’s effort after a sheriff’s deputy died during the pandemic and ‘‘identification benefits to the family were denied,’’ and that her office found other similar cases around the state. "This bill is supported by the firefighters association," Vittardi said, thanking staff and members who assisted in preparing the measure.

The bill as amended would make eligible those public safety officer cases diagnosed on or before April 15, 2022 — the date the state of emergency ended — and would create a short retroactive window for submitting claims if the bill becomes law. After legislative counsel advised the committee, members voted to delete a section that tied the measure’s effective date to the governor’s approval; that change makes the bill effective July 1, creating a filing window running from July 1 to Aug. 1 (a 30-day window the sponsor said could be shortened administratively).

Why it matters: Senator Vittardi and other members said the measure responds to denied claims from families who lost loved ones in what they and their counsel maintain were line-of-duty COVID-19 deaths. The committee discussion focused on eligibility definitions, the relationship of this indemnification to workers’ compensation and other benefits, and how the payments would be funded.

Key provisions and fiscal impact - Eligibility window: diagnosis on or before April 15, 2022. - Filing window and effective date: committee amendment sets effectiveness July 1, with claims submitted between July 1 and Aug. 1, 2025 (the sponsor said the filing window was intentionally narrow because "the individuals who would be impacted by this, obviously, they know who they are"). - Payments: the bill authorizes indemnification payments; the text allows the Department of Administrative Services (DOAS) to purchase annuities to fund some payments if a claimant elects an annuity rather than a lump sum. Senator Kauser asked why claimants could not choose the payment form; Senator Vittardi responded that the bill authorizes, rather than forces, annuity purchases by the department to fund payments. - Relationship to other benefits: committee members clarified that the bill is "in addition to" statutory workers’ compensation benefits and does not replace other insurance or compensation available to claimants. - Estimated cost: the sponsor said roughly 29 families (from a pool of 68 indemnification claims identified) would cost about $4,400,000 if paid; she said those figures came from DOAS claim records and that the number of fatalities specifically identified was 29 of the 68 claims that were reviewed. - Funding: federal ARPA money had been available earlier to cover such claims but expired in December 2024; the sponsor said the committee will seek state appropriations in the upcoming budget to cover the cost if the bill advances.

Committee debate and questions Committee members pressed for clarity on several points. Senator Harbin asked whether workers’ compensation had refused to cover these claims; Vittardi and staff said the issues were often factual — whether COVID-19 could be shown to be line-of-duty under the existing process — and that some claims were denied after administrative review. Senator Hodges asked whether children would continue to receive payments if a surviving spouse remarried; the sponsor said she believed the children would still be paid. Senator Kirkpatrick and others noted the bill’s language includes permanent disability as well as death in certain subsections, but Vittardi said the cases she and her office had worked on were primarily death claims; she offered to ask DOAS for a subcategorization.

Senator Kauser pressed on the annuity language in the bill (lines cited by the committee during debate) and was told the text authorizes DOAS to purchase an annuity if a claimant elects that option; it does not compel annuitization. Senator Harbison and others asked how the state would determine that an infection occurred in the scope of employment; the sponsor described a detailed factual record compiled in at least one contested case that included timing, location, and other documentary evidence presented to DOAS and its review board.

Amendments and procedural steps The committee considered and adopted an amendment (motion: delete section 4 and renumber section 5 to section 4) after legislative counsel advised that deleting the original section 4 would make the bill effective July 1 and create the 4-week filing window the sponsor sought. Senator Lucas opposed that amendment on the record. After disposition of the amendment, Senator Robertson moved that the bill "do pass," Senator Kirkpatrick seconded, and the committee approved the bill as amended. The committee chair said the bill will proceed to Rules.

Votes at a glance - Motion to delete section 4 and renumber section 5 to section 4: amendment adopted (Senator Lucas recorded in opposition). - Motion that LC 394428 (Senate Bill 56) do pass: moved by Senator Robertson; seconded by Senator Kirkpatrick; committee approved the bill as amended. (Roll-call tally not specified in the transcript.)

What the bill does not do yet The bill does not appropriate funds directly; the sponsor said an appropriation request will be submitted to the budget chair (chairman Tillery) and that the governor’s office and OPB were aware of the bill but the prior federal funds had been rescinded. The measure, as passed by the committee, creates eligibility and a retroactive filing window but relies on subsequent budget action to fund payments.

Next steps Committee staff will transmit LC 394428 as amended to the Senate Rules committee for scheduling. The sponsor noted Representative Gullett is working in the House on companion efforts; final enactment and funding will depend on House concurrence and budgetary action.