Addressing duty-related death benefits for public safety employees (EHB 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. More specifics can be found in last week’s Bulletin. The bill has already been approved by the House and heard and approved by the Senate Ways and Means Committee. A Senate Ways & Means amendment retains the remarriage prohibition on surviving spouses for workers' compensation benefits of public safety employees killed in the course of employment. EHB 2519 is now in the Senate Rules Committee.

Reimbursing medical expenses for certain totally disabled public safety personnel (SHB 1679)

As the bill currently stands, it would:

Reimburse members of the Law Enforcement Officers’ and Firefighters’ Retirement System Plan 2 and the Washington State Patrol Retirement System (WSPRS) totally disabled in the line of duty for any payments made for employer-provided medical insurance.
Apply prospectively to reimburse payments made after the effective date of the act.
Define totally disabled during line duty for WSPRS as those unable to perform any gainful activity.

The fiscal note on this bill is incomplete and impacts to local governments have not been determined. The bill was unanimously approved by the House on February 3 and has been referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Stating the policy that law enforcement personnel be truthful and honest in the conduct of official business (SSB 6590)

This bill is in response to the Washington State Supreme Court case, Kitsap County Deputy Sheriff’s Guild v.Kitsap County, 167 Wn. 2d 428 (2009). In this case, the court reviewed Washington law and found that there was no explicit, well defined, and dominate public policy requiring termination of an officer found to have been untruthful.

This bill would create a new public policy which states that all commissioned, appointed, and elected law enforcement personnel be truthful and honest in the conduct of their official duties. The bill was amended by the committee and now sits in the Senate Rules Committee.

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