The House Finance Committee on Thursday set an amendment deadline for legislation that would increase disability benefits for permanently injured peace officers and firefighters, while also advancing a mail theft bill and introducing a revised paid parental leave measure.

The committee heard House Bill 210, sponsored by Rep. Kopp, R-Anchorage. The bill would raise disability payments for peace officers and firefighters from 40 percent to 75 percent of their final salary. Under the bill, officers would remain at 40 percent during the first year of disability, then increase to 75 percent in the second year and beyond. The bill applies to those in the defined contribution retirement system who suffer permanent career-ending injuries in the line of duty.

"House Bill 210 addresses a gap in how we support peace officers and firefighters who suffer permanent career-ending injuries in the line of duty," Kopp said. "Today those individuals receive just 40 percent of their salary, or a 60 percent income loss overnight after the disability occurs. And that loss is compounding because most of those employees also lose their employee-sponsored healthcare, because you can only have your employee-sponsored healthcare if you are not on disability."

The bill would affect 12 peace officers and firefighters currently on disability status, according to Kopp. There are 16 total public safety officers in the defined contribution plan on occupational disability, but only 12 are peace officers and firefighters covered by the legislation. The disability trust fund that would cover the increased payments is currently funded at 421 percent, he said.

Brandon Rumsfeld, retirement manager for the Division of Retirement and Benefits, submitted a zero fiscal note but noted the department anticipates programming costs to implement the legislation. Those costs are not yet known, he said.

Several committee members raised questions about differences between the defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans, particularly regarding healthcare coverage and disability definitions. Rep. Bynum, R-Ketchikan, asked whether the bill should be expanded to include other employees in the Public Employees' Retirement System who work in high-risk jobs, citing linemen as an example.

When Rep. Josephson, D-Juneau, asked what the bill does about healthcare for disabled officers, Kopp acknowledged the legislation does not address that gap. "The healthcare plan is a cost driver. And we did not know how that would impact this bill," Kopp said. "We tackled the immediate relief we could give them, which was the disability, because the trust is so well funded and there are few members that this would apply to. And the most immediate relief we could give them is this cash payment relief going from 40 to 75 percent. But again, it does not address the healthcare problem."