SACRAMENTO, CA - With new research showing that firefighters have a significantly higher risk than most people of getting job-related cancers, Assemblymember Jared Huffman has announced the introduction of AB 2496, to extend the exemption from the payment of higher education tuition and fees to the surviving spouse or child of a deceased law enforcement officer or firefighter whose death was the result of an injury or disease sustained in the line of duty.  The bill would also apply to the surviving spouse or child of a fallen firefighter who was employed by the federal government who was a resident of this state and whose regular duty assignment was to perform firefighting services in California.

The legislation was proposed by Assemblymember Huffman’s constituent, Catherine Rucker of Novato, who participated in his annual “Oughta Be a Law” contest.  “Ultimately, this bill guarantees that the spouses and children of fallen California firefighters won’t lose the chance of a college education when they lose their family’s provider,” said Assemblymember Huffman.

While current law authorizes the payment of a lump-sum benefit to an eligible survivor of a firefighter who is killed in the line duty, the reality is that a survivor must rely on this modest benefit to maintain and continue to support the daily needs of the family given that it usually accounts for the family’s only source of income.  In the years following a line-of-duty death, the financial hardship inflicted on a firefighter’s surviving family typically becomes greater as inflation eats away a larger and larger share of the survivor-related benefit.

If it weren’t for existing law on supplemental education benefits available to a surviving spouse or surviving child of a deceased firefighter or law enforcement officer, the escalating cost of higher education in California would otherwise put even more of a financial burden on a family that is already faced with a financial strain while grieving the loss of a loved one who has died in the line of duty.  Unfortunately, some colleges have recently denied the waivers to eligible survivors of fallen firefighters and law enforcement officers who succumbed to an occupational injury or illness.  Current law only applies when a firefighter or law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty.

 “When a California firefighter falls in the line of duty, it is our responsibility as citizens to do everything we can to protect their families and remember their sacrifice,” said Assemblymember Huffman.  “Clarification of the law is needed to help California honor the men and women who give their lives to protect our safety by ensuring that the continued application of existing survivor-related higher education benefits remains consistent with the Legislature’s original intent.”