Committee extends proposed window for firefighter line-of-duty death benefits to 15 years; public hearing draws mixed views

Representative Bessel, sponsor of House Bill 227, told the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee he is proposing guardrails to the state—s line-of-duty death benefit statute to preserve the program—s solvency and to limit long-tail claims tied to occupational diseases.

"What I am attempting to address here is to place some safeguards," Representative Bessel said, describing examples of retirees in their 70s and 80s who have, in some cases, received line-of-duty death benefits decades after retirement. He said the bill would preserve benefits for clear on-duty deaths while narrowing eligibility where claims appear untethered to a qualifying event during employment.

The committee adopted an amendment from Representative Underwood that replaces a 10-year post-retirement window in the bill with a 15-year window and adds cancer to the list of presumptive occupational illnesses covered by the statute. The amendment was accepted by voice vote and the measure moved into a public hearing.

The issue drew both supporters and opponents during the public hearing. Steve McKees, who said he has followed the issue for years, told the committee he supports the bill as a clarification of the governing statute; he said the statute—s…