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Committee hears bill to add cancer screenings for firefighters under James G. M. Malone Act
Summary
Senators presented Senate Bill 374 to require additional cancer screenings for professional and volunteer firefighters; sponsors said costs could be offset by an existing $3 million screening fund and many counties already provide similar screenings.
Senate Bill 374, named the James G. M. Malone Act, was presented during the House Health and Government Operations Committee bill hearings to require additional cancer screenings for professional and volunteer firefighters.
Sen. Bridal, the sponsor appearing as chair of the Senate Finance Committee, told the committee the bill narrows existing county programs that self-insure firefighters and asks counties already providing health care to “add a few more screenings that the IAFF (International Association of Fire Fighters) have added to the list of possible cancers for firefighters.” He said there is a related appropriation in the budget — an “innovative screening” fund of $3,000,000 — that could be used for a blood test to detect cancer and thus would not add to state or county budgets in the sponsor’s view.
The bill, the sponsor said, honors Jimmy Malone, a longtime firefighter who had leukemia and later brain cancer. Sponsor testimony emphasized two goals: expand screening to detect cancer earlier, and avoid increased system costs by using available screening funds. Chair Pena Melnik thanked the sponsor and indicated the committee was supportive of amendments the senate had added.
Committee members did not record formal questions that changed the bill’s posture; sponsors and the committee noted the bill is a cross-file and that amendments adopted in the Senate would be incorporated. No vote occurred in the hearing.
Because counties that self-insure already run firefighter health programs, the bill focuses on aligning county screening practices with IAFF guidance and on making screening widely available rather than creating a new statewide entitlement.
The committee concluded the hearing on SB 374 after sponsor remarks and brief committee acknowledgment.
Notes: the bill was presented as a Senate cross-file to the committee and sponsors spoke of an existing $3,000,000 screening appropriation that could be used for blood tests for early cancer detection.
