SB 203

Subject to a number of limitations, current law requires a city, village, or town

(municipality) that pays health insurance premiums for its employees who are fire

fighters to pay such premiums for the surviving spouse and dependent children of

a fire fighter who dies, or has died, in the line of duty. This general current law

requirement does not apply to a surviving spouse who remarries or reaches the age

of 65, or to a dependent child who reaches the age of 18 and is not a full-time high

school student. Current law does require premium payments to be made for a

dependent child who is a full-time or part-time student in an accredited college or

university until the close of the calendar year in which the individual reaches the age

of 26. This bill does not require such premium payments to be made after such an

individual reaches the age of 26.

The bill requires a municipality or county (political subdivision) that pays

health insurance premiums for its employees who are law enforcement officers or

emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to pay such premiums for the surviving

spouse and dependent children of a law enforcement officer or EMT who dies, or has

died, in the line of duty. In addition, the bill requires the state to reimburse political

subdivisions for premiums paid to cover the surviving spouses and dependents of

fallen fire fighters, law enforcement officers, and EMTs that were paid by the

political subdivisions and that were not otherwise required to be paid under an

employment-related benefit provided to the fire fighter, law enforcement officer, or

EMT. The bill establishes a process whereby political subdivisions may seek

reimbursement of the payment of premiums from the Department of Administration

(DOA). The state is to pay these health insurance premiums only after any sick leave

credits that may be used for the purchase of health insurance have been exhausted.

The bill further requires DOA to establish a loan program for surviving spouses

of law enforcement officers and fire fighters who have died in the line of duty. The

loan program must provide for the payment of a loan to a surviving spouse in an

amount equal to the salary that would have been paid his or her deceased spouse had

he or she not died in the line of duty. The loan must be disbursed to coincide with the

pay period that applied to the deceased spouse, must be secured by the proceeds of

any life insurance policy that covered the deceased spouse, and must come due when

a surviving spouse receives the proceeds from the life insurance policy that covered

his or her deceased spouse. No loan may be made for any period after the proceeds

of a life insurance policy have been disbursed to the surviving spouse. To qualify for

a loan, a surviving spouse must apply for the loan on a form prepared by DOA;

provide all documentation required by DOA to verify that his or her spouse died in

the line of duty; provide all documentation required by DOA to verify the salary of

the deceased spouse; and enter into an agreement with DOA that any loan must be

secured by the proceeds of a life insurance policy that covered his or her deceased

spouse.