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Senate panel hears bill to reopen COVID-era death-benefit claims for fallen officers
Summary
Senate Bill 56 would let families of law enforcement officers who died of COVID-19 on or before April 15, 2022, apply for indemnification benefits during a limited window; the committee treated the measure as a hearing only and will revisit it.
The Georgia Senate Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security on Wednesday heard testimony on Senate Bill 56, which would allow families of law enforcement officers who died of COVID-19 on or before April 15, 2022, to apply for benefits from a state indemnification fund during a short application window.
Committee members and the bill’s sponsor told the panel that funds to pay approved claims—about $4,350,000—were added to the amended fiscal-year budget and signed by the governor, and the bill would create a procedural trigger so eligible families can submit claims. “This bill basically allows, families who had filed claims and were denied claims, to receive those benefits,” the bill presenter said during the hearing.
The legislation sets a strict eligibility timeline: deaths must have occurred on or before April 15, 2022 (the date the state of emergency expired), applications would be accepted beginning when the bill becomes law (the presenter said July 1, 2025) and must be filed before Aug. 1, 2025. The Department of Administrative Services told the committee the estimated cost of the claims is roughly $4,350,000 and that the appropriation is already included in the amended budget passed earlier this year.
Members of the committee offered brief remarks, including personal testimony from one senator who described a former partner who died after contracting COVID-19 in late 2020. Representative Jackson asked for clarification of the application window; the sponsor confirmed the July 1–Aug. 1, 2025 timing as the operative window for filing claims.
The committee did not take final action on the bill. Members moved to treat the item as a hearing only and said they will reconvene soon for follow-up work. The sponsor said staff and legislators have coordinated with the administration and local stakeholders and that roughly 29 family claims had been denied previously and could be eligible under the bill.
The committee also noted that current statute and administrative rules already include eligibility conditions for survivors and that the bill is not changing survivor definitions but is creating the mechanism and timing for filing the previously denied claims.
The committee adjourned the item without a vote and scheduled further consideration at a later date.
