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Committee backs ordinance to align firefighter and police disability presumptions with state law
Summary
The committee recommended sending to the full Board an ordinance amending the administrative code to presume certain heart-trouble and pneumonia conditions are job-related for firefighters and police officers, with the BLA estimating a modest pension contribution increase of $350,000—$700,000 next fiscal year.
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee on Sept. 5 recommended the Board consider an ordinance to amend the administrative code so heart-trouble and pneumonia in firefighters and police officers would be presumed job-related for industrial disability and death benefits in line with state labor code.
Sponsor Supervisor Valley Brown said the change mirrors state labor code and similar Bay Area municipal provisions and would prevent agency reviews from relying on preexisting-condition evidence from initial hire exams to deny benefits. "Today, we have an opportunity to step up and do the right thing for them," Brown said, urging the committee to approve the alignment.
Severn Campbell of the Budget and Legislative Analyst—s Office presented the fiscal estimate, based on the retirement system actuary, that the city's retirement contribution could increase roughly $350,000 to $700,000 in the coming fiscal year, representing less than a tenth of a percentage-point increase in payroll contribution rates. Campbell noted that the recommendation of the committee is a policy decision for the Board of Supervisors.
Public comment included union leaders and representatives: Michael Hebble of the San Francisco Police Officers Association and San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 leaders (Sean Buford, Tom O'Connor) urged passage, describing a decades-old gap that had forced members to fight for benefits while ill and saying the change will close that loophole and align San Francisco with CalPERS and other jurisdictions.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin notified the clerk that he would cosponsor the measure by email. The committee moved the item to the full Board with a positive recommendation without objection.
