Fiscal Committee Passes Death Benefit Filing Extension

The Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday passed a bill that would preserve the extended deadline for beneficiaries of police and firefighters to file claims for death benefits in California. Gov. Jerry Brown in 2014 enacted a bill allowing the families of cops and firefighters up to 420 weeks to file a claim for death benefits. California Professional Firefighters argued that AB 1035 would rectify the injustice of the 240-week deadline punishing first responders for trying to survive after they contract a disease. AB 1035 included a provision that called for it to automatically suns...