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Panel hears bill to extend death and disability benefits to first responders for PTSD and suicide
Summary
House Bill 76 would expand Maryland death and disability benefits to cover qualifying public safety personnel whose suicide or permanent disability results from job-related PTSD or other mental-health conditions. Supporters, including victims' families, firefighters and unions, urged passage; one union noted the fiscal note may understate state out
Lawmakers and public-safety representatives urged the House Appropriations Committee to approve House Bill 76, which would extend death and disability benefits to qualifying Maryland public safety personnel who die by suicide or who suffer permanent disability caused by job-related post‑traumatic stress disorder and other mental-health conditions.
Sponsor Delegate Mary Lehman told the committee the bill is modeled on a 2022 federal law and would make Maryland benefits for covered personnel consistent with federal standards. "Please vote to extend disability and death benefits to the men and women of Maryland who protect us," Lehman said.
The measure would amend the Maryland Public Safety Article to allow benefits for law-enforcement officers, correctional officers, volunteer and career firefighters and rescue squad members, certain public-safety aviation and hazardous-materials employees, some veterans who served in Afghanistan or Iraq, and 9-1-1 call takers. Supporters said adding 9-1-1 dispatchers is the bill's new element compared with last year's proposal.
Family members and union leaders described cases in which volunteers and career members faced mental-health crises after repeated exposure to traumatic incidents. "He had no support before he committed suicide," Janet DeMarin, a volunteer fire chief, testified about a volunteer she lost; she said survivors encountered little assistance afterward.
The Maryland State Firefighters Association said the bill would recognize PTSD and other stress-related disorders as occupational hazards for volunteer firefighters and rescue squad members but flagged a fiscal inconsistency: trustees administer volunteer benefits from state appropriations, and the association said the fiscal note understates potential future state expenditures if claims increase.
Mental-health and chaplain witnesses described the growing toll of suicide and chronic trauma in first-responder ranks and urged passage as both a moral and public-health imperative. "This bill will allow you to be that person who can save a life and make a difference," chaplain Hope Larson testified.
The committee did not take a vote at the hearing. Sponsors acknowledged the need to reconcile fiscal reporting language and to confirm whether local participation is optional or mandated in certain provisions; Lehman said she would follow up on those drafting questions.
