Personnel & labor relations

Major bills

Public safety employee benefits (EHB 2519)

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

• 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 for 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 reinstated.
• 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.

[C 261, L 10; Effective Date: June 10, 2010]

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

This bill will:

• Reimburse members of the Law Enforcement Officers’ and Firefighters’ Retirement System Plan 2 and the Washington State Patrol Retirement System (WSPRS) who are totally disabled in the line of duty for any payments made by the employee for employer-provided medical insurance.
• Apply prospectively to reimburse payments made after the effective date of the act.
• Define totally disabled during the line of duty for WSPRS as those unable to perform any gainful activity.
• Require totally disabled LEOFF Plan 2 members to enroll in Medicare Plans A and B, if eligible, to receive reimbursement.

According to the fiscal note, the bill will have a substantial (greater than $1M) annual impact on local government expenditures for employee retirement benefits. Counties, cities and special districts with law enforcement officers or firefighters participating in the LEOFF 2 retirement plan will be affected.

The state actuary estimates a $1.1 million impact on local government in the 2010-2011 biennium and a $2.9 million impact in the 2011-2013 biennium, with a total impact through 2035 of $52.3 million.

[C 259, L 10; Effective Date: June 10, 2010]

Other bills of interest

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