Duty-related death benefits (HB 2519)

This bill, requested by the LEOFF Plan 2 Retirement Board, would provide a comprehensive package of benefits to augment the existing duty-related death benefits for LEOFF 2 members.

In particular the bill would:

Provide all survivors of duty-related deaths in LEOFF 2 and WSPRS 2 with the same choice currently provided to survivors of members with 10 or more years of service (ongoing pension or 150% withdrawal).
Eliminate the actuarial reduction for the joint and 100% survivor benefit for duty-related deaths in LEOFF 2 and WSPRS 2.
Provide a 10% minimum pension benefit for duty-related deaths.
Increase the $150,000 lump-sum duty-related death benefit to reflect inflation since 1996 and add an inflationary adjustment for the future.
Eliminate the remarriage prohibition for workers' compensation benefits on surviving spouses of public safety employees killed in the course of employment. Surviving spouses who have already had their benefits suspended due to remarriage will have their benefits resume.
Require state universities and community colleges to waive all tuition fees and activity fees for children and surviving spouses of any law enforcement officer or firefighter who is killed or totally disabled in the line of duty.

The bill has not yet been scheduled for hearing.

Recognizing legal unions from other states as state registered domestic partnerships (HB 2482)

This bill would require the state to recognize the legal union of two persons of the same sex that was validly formed in another jurisdiction, and that is substantially equivalent to a domestic partnership under Washington law, as a valid domestic partnership in Washington.

The bill is scheduled for public hearing in the House Judiciary Committee on January 13 at 8 am.

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