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Senate subcommittee holds Good Friday bill for firefighter cancer‑screening grant pending budget review
Summary
Senate Bill 972 would create a Department of Fire Programs grant to reimburse out‑of‑pocket cancer‑screening and related expenses for emergency responders exposed to toxic materials. The subcommittee passed the bill by for the day to resolve budget placement and funding options.
Senate Bill 972, carried by Senator Rouse, would require the Department of Fire Programs to establish guidelines and an application for a grant program providing cancer‑screening support to eligible emergency responders exposed to toxic hazards while on duty.
The measure defines eligible emergency responders to include state and local government employees who respond to incidents involving hazardous materials and would allow grants to reimburse out‑of‑pocket expenses not covered by insurance or workers’ compensation, according to the bill’s sponsor. The bill does not require a local match, the sponsor said.
Why it matters
Supporters told the subcommittee that responder cancer diagnoses are a live problem. Ken Pravetz, fire chief in Virginia Beach, testified that his department currently has 11 firefighters with cancer and has lost two firefighters to the disease in the last two years. ‘‘We need to be able to monitor the responders that went there,’’ Pravetz said, urging support for the grant program as a way to help cover screening and unreimbursed costs.
Vance Cooper, president of the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association, told the committee the organization “100%” supports the bill and asked the subcommittee to move it forward.
Committee action
Senator Deese moved to pass the bill by for the day so that its budget implications could be addressed; the motion was seconded and carried. Committee members said routing the program through the budget process could be beneficial to establish funding and administration details.
What’s next
The bill is being held pending placement and funding decisions in the budget process; the Department of Fire Programs was directed to prepare implementation guidelines should funding be provided.
