MONTGOMERY — In an emotional scene on Tuesday, State Rep. Russell Bedsole (R-Alabaster) reluctantly pulled legislation for consideration that would restructure how line-of-duty death benefits are paid to retired firefighters in the state.
On Tuesday, lawmakers were slated to take a vote on House Bill 227. However, instead of voting on the bill, Bedsole announced that he was asking the bill to be carried over.
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.
HB 277 would limit an individual's eligibility for those benefits to 10 years after they leave their job as a firefighter, unless they can show that the qualifying disease resulted from the firefighter work.
Bedsole told 1819 News that the bill's motivation came after a firefighter received death benefits after dying from COVID-19, over 20 years after retiring as a firefighter. This and other "loopholes" in state law raised concerns that death benefits were being distributed carelessly, potentially putting the state at risk of running out of funds for these benefits.
"We're going to have to find a way to apply this and give respect to the idea that occupational illnesses can take years to show up, and we have to understand those are going to come in years of retirement," Bedsole told 1819 News. "But we can't do it in a way that, if we continue with this system, that finite amount of money on a budget line item, we'll find ourselves in a position where we may be awarding money out in one of these situations that fall way outside of the norm. And then, when a true line of duty death happens, the state would be faced to look the family in the eye and say, 'we don't have the money to award to you,' and I don't ever want that to be the case."
Bedsole announced that he was withdrawing his bill after discovering some conflicting existing statutes. He stated that he did not feel comfortable asking his colleagues to vote on legislation without having the full picture.
"I conveyed some information to them that I realized wasn't the full picture, and so, in order to maintain my integrity with the members I serve with, I didn't have time to fully explain the complexity of these different statutes," Bedsole said.
He continued, "I was only giving them part of the story, and that wasn't fair to them and the people they represent."
Speaking on the House floor on Tuesday, Bedsole also stated that he had been subjected to numerous personal attacks from the Professional Firefighters of Alabama (PFFA).
"The members of the PFA have been let down by their leadership," Bedsole told the House. "Their president and their legislative committee failed to come to the table when I needed them at the table to discuss this very important legislation that has to deal with their members. And I deeply regret that they didn't feel like it was important enough for you, or for me, or for their members to be a part of this dialogue. So, for all the emails and phone calls that you got over the past week, understand the leadership of the PFFA refused to come to the table."
"The personal attacks on me over the past week, that included circulating a photo of my family, was uncalled for. The very men that call themselves professionals, professional firefighters that are a part of the union – and this is not all firefighters – the very men who call themselves professional were very unprofessional this week. And as I stand before you, it would be very difficult for me to want to carry a bill on behalf of the firefighters of the PFFA, and it has to deal with their leadership."
Bedsole's soliloquy before the House body earned his applause across the room as he asked for his bill to be carried over.
Despite the personal attacks and eventual withdrawal of his bill from consideration, Bedsole told 1819 News he fully intends to bring it back next year, this time taking full account of the existing statutes that halted it this year. He is also considering assembling a task force to address the issue comprehensively.
"I'm considering, possibly by resolution, to pull together a task force of a current and retired firefighters [and] current and retired law-enforcement, and with that, do a policy analysis of other states and how they administer line of duty death benefits; to include how we fund it and how how we rule on those claims," Bedsole said. "And that's something I'm considering right now. It's a little too early to decide what my next steps will be, but that is a possibility, to bring everybody to the table."
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