Assembly Bill 2451 goes to Governor, GOP outraged!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Assembly Bill 2451 goes to Governor, GOP outraged!

Assembly sends public-safety death benefit measure to governor

The Assembly sent to the governor today legislation that would double the statute of limitations for families of police and firefighters to file for job-related death benefits that can exceed $300,000.

Assembly Bill 2451 cleared its final legislative hurdle, 51-18, when the Assembly concurred in amendments. Most Democrats supported the measure, while many Republicans opposed it.

The bill by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez would allow families to file for death benefits for up to nine years after the diagnosis of a job-caused illness or injury to a public safety official.

AB 2451 would apply to deaths from cancer, tuberculosis, blood-borne infectious diseases and what are commonly called MSRA skin infections, ailments presumed by law to be job-related when they afflict police or firefighters.

The bill is meant to target situations in which a public safety official suffered a fatal illness or injury while employed, but battled it, living longer than the 4 1/2-year statute of limitation for seeking death benefits.

Pérez, in floor debate, characterized the bill as a fitting response to job-related deaths of heroes who routinely risk their lives performing dangerous tasks for the public - charging into burning buildings or drug labs containing dangerous chemicals, for example.

"Assembly Bill 2451 honors the courage and memory of our state's fallen public safety officers, and the perseverance and sacrifice of their surviving family members," he said.

Opponents countered that AB 2451 could cost local governments hundreds of millions of dollars in years or decades to come. Government simply can't afford padding benefits in an era of economic distress, they noted.

Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, R-Costa Mesa, called the bill "a slap in the face to voters" and "a slap in the face to taxpayers."

"This is fiscal suicide, this is fiscal insanity," added Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks.

Assemblyman Chris Norby, R-Fullerton, said the vote could come back to haunt Democrats as they push for voters to pass Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed tax increase on the November ballot.

"This is definitely the wrong message to send politically," he said.

Source: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/08/assembly-sends-public-safety-death-benefit-measure-to-governor.html

CFN - California Fire News 2012

No comments:

How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Tuesday, August 28, 2012