Testimony in support of bill to raise disability pay for Alaska peace officers and firefighters
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Sign Up Free
Summary
Public testimony for House Bill 210 urged raising occupational disability pay from 40% to 75% after 12 months for permanently injured peace officers and firefighters; supporters asked that the change apply retroactively to current Tier 4 recipients. The committee closed testimony and will review fiscal notes at its next meeting.
House Finance took public testimony on House Bill 210 on March 26, a bill sponsored by Representative Kopp to increase occupational disability benefits for peace officers and firefighters.
Representative Kopp summarized HB210 for the committee, saying the bill would raise the occupational disability benefit from 40% to 75% of salary after the first 12 months of disability and would apply to both current and future recipients. "The bill increases the benefit from 40% to 75 percent of salary after the first 12 months of disability," Kopp said in his recap.
Two online testifiers spoke in favor. Scott Lanier, a former Alaska state trooper who said he has received disability pay since April 2024, told the committee the bill would "alleviate some of the pain" of losing a career and urged retroactive application for Tier 4 first responders currently on disability so they can afford medical insurance. "If passed for the first time since I lost my career in 2024, I would finally be able to afford medical insurance," Lanier said.
Dominic Lozano, president of Alaskan Professional Firefighters, said the union supports HB210 and described the increase as an important improvement in financial security for permanently injured members. "House Bill 210 is an attempt to change disability coverage from 40 percent to 75 percent and improves public safety members' lives," Lozano said; he asked the committee for quick passage out of committee.
Committee members had no further questions after testimony. Chair Foster closed public testimony and said the committee will review fiscal notes and continue consideration at the next meeting; no amendments were considered and no vote was taken today.
Several testifiers and Representative Kopp noted requests for retroactivity; Lanier explicitly asked the committee to make the benefit change retroactive for current Tier 4 recipients. The committee will review fiscal notes and any potential amendments, and the sponsor said more detailed questions could be taken after fiscal review at the next meeting.