Governor Jerry Brown has put the wraps on the 2015-2016 legislative session, and pro-firefighter legislation has once again fared well.
The govenor signed every one of the CPF-sponsored measures that reached his desk, as well as several that were co-sponsored by CPF.
Among the success stories are bills protecting fallen firefighter survivor benefits, curbing employer abuses of Workers Comp, protecting retirement for wrongly-terminated firefighters and giving firefighters a say when those who murder firefighters are up for parole.
A rundown of measures signed by Brown:
- AB 898 (Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego) - Requires that Parole Board or Dept. of Corrections inform a murdered firefighter's department when the convicted killer is scheduled for a parole hearing;
- AB 1980 (Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks) – Allows the California Fire Foundation to move forward with modifications of California Firefighters Memorial to ensure that additional names can be added to Memorial for decades to come.
- AB 2028 (Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove) -- Codifies practice of CalPERS enabling restoration of retirement service credit for members found to have been wrongfully terminated.
- AB 2164 (Patrick O'Donnell, D-Long Beach) – Clarifies long-standing interpretation of 1970s law providing CSU, UC and community college tuition waivers for children of fallen firefighters, ensuring LODDs from job-related illness are covered.
- AB 2318 (Evan Low, D-Campbell) -- Strengthens enforcement of prohibition on non-profit organizations' use of public resources for campaign purposes.
- SB 1203 (Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys) -- Allows continuation of pre-existing pension plans or formulas for firefighters in situations where their employer becomes a Joint Powers Authority formed after the 2013 pension law.
- SB 1160 (Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia) -- Modifies Workers' Comp utilization review process to curb unwarranted claims denials & toughens reporting and enforcement.
As always, the legislative success is a product of the active engagement of CPF members, in particular on the year's priority legislation -- the education benefit for fallen firefighter families (AB 2164) and Workers Comp reform (SB 1160).
Keep track of how CPF is working with your locals to make life better for firefighters and their families. www.cpf.org/theunionisus.