Senate Defunds Firefighter Cancer Benefits Bill

Monday, April 23, 2018 | 0

A bill that would provide a funding source for New Hampshire firefighters' cancer benefits now awaits action in a House committee after it was gutted in the Senate, according to a local news report.

SB 541, sponsored by state Sen. Dan Innis, R-New Castle, would have placed a surcharge on insurance policies to fund workers' compensation benefits for firefighters who've been diagnosed with cancer.

The bill cleared a Senate committee, but the surcharge was removed on the Senate floor and replaced with a study commission, a SeacoastOnline editorial wrote Friday. Insurance groups opposed the measure.

A New Hampshire law passed in 1987, similar to laws in 37 other states, holds that firefighters diagnosed with cancer are presumed to have developed the disease because of exposure to hazardous chemicals and materials in the line of duty. But the legislature never approved a funding source to pay for medical and death benefits for firefighters.

The House Finance Committee is scheduled to vote on the bill Thursday, according to the General Court calendar.