Under existing law, a firefighter paid by a municipality or by the state who is disabled or who dies as a result of hypertension, heart disease, or respiratory disease may be eligible for the same benefits that would be available for a firefighter who is injured or killed in the line of duty. This eligibility applies to an individual who has ceased to be employed as a firefighter. This bill would limit an individual's eligibility for these benefits to 10 years after he or she leaves employment as a municipal or state firefighter, unless the individual can show that the qualifying disease resulted from the individual's work as a firefighter. This bill recognizes that if a fire district makes the same benefits available to employee firefighters, the fire district may impose the same conditions on eligibility after the firefighter leaves the employment of the fire district. This bill would also delete duplicative language and make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 11-43-144, 36-30-40, 36-30-41