The Alaska Legislature has begun considering a proposal to grant permanent health insurance to the spouses and children of firefighters and police who are killed in the line of duty.
On Thursday morning, committees in the House and Senate began considering House Bill 4002 and Senate Bill 4002, respectively. The identical bills were introduced by Gov. Bill Walker and are advancing down parallel tracks in each body of the Legislature to speed passage.
“There are some gaps in the current terms of our retirement plan that do not provide that coverage,” said Department of Administration Commissioner Sheldon Fisher, explaining the need for the bill.
The bill has a narrow focus. It only covers peace officers and firefighters who die in the line of duty and are members of the Public Employees Retirement System. That includes corrections officers and some municipal police and firefighters, but it does not include Village Public Safety Officers and many volunteer firefighters.
Fisher told the Senate State Affairs Committee that those restrictions come for two reasons. The first is cost.