Lawmakers propose Firefighter Protection Act and teacher retention programs

Firefighter Protection Act Would Offer Workers’ Comp Coverage for Cancer, PTSD

Firefighters with conditions like cancer, heart disease and post-traumatic stress disorder could have their treatment covered by worker’s compensation insurance under a new bill in the Montana Legislature.

President of the Montana Fire Chiefs’ Association Rich Cowger said during a public hearing on the bill Tuesday that firefighters face many hazards and should be covered for illnesses that might come with the job.

“‘Workers’ comp’ is designed to fight against catastrophic injuries,” Cowger said. “A heart attack is a catastrophic injury. A diagnosis of cancer is a catastrophic injury.”

Sen. Nate McConnell, D-Missoula, is sponsoring Senate Bill 160, referred to as the Firefighter Protection Act, which would also require firefighters to take a physical at least once every two years.

“The physicals are one of the linchpins of the Firefighter Protection Act,” McConnell said. “Catch it early. It’s easier to treat and the firefighter can recover.”

Opponents of SB 160 say new claims would cause insurance rates to rise. Larry Jones with the Montana Self Insurers’ Association said it would be difficult for insurers to refute claims.

“How does an insurance company disprove a presumptive illness claim? All the evidence has been destroyed,” Jones said.

The Firefighters Protection Act has time limits on coverage depending on the disease, extends 10 years after a firefighter retires and covers 13 different occupational illnesses.

The bill is accompanied by Senate Bill 171, sponsored by Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls, which would require firefighters hired after Jan. 1, 2020 to be tobacco-free and current firefighters who use tobacco to go to treatments to help them quit.

“If we’re going to assume that all cancer is caused by a presumptive disease, we can’t have guys using tobacco,” Fitzpatrick said.

The Senate Business, Labor and Economics Committee did not immediately take a vote on the bill Tuesday.

Bill Would Expand Teacher Retention Program

A bill introduced in a legislative committee Monday would build on a state program aimed at recruiting and retaining quality educators in rural Montana through student loan assistance and other incentives.

Rep. Llew Jones, a Republican from Conrad, is carrying House Bill 211, which would make loan assistance payments to teachers tax exempt. It would also allocate $400,000 for school districts with teachers who qualify for loan assistance to help incentivize those teachers to stay.

Executive Director of the Montana School Boards Association Lance Melton spoke in support of the bill.

“The smaller and more rural you get, the more critical your circumstances generally are,” Melton said.

The existing, but unfunded, Quality Educator Loan Assistance Program allows an educator at a school with a critical shortage of teachers to get loan assistance from the state for up to three years. A school district is defined as critically needy if it struggles to fill open positions.

The level of assistance increases each year, so an eligible teacher would receive $3,000 the first year and $5,000 the third year.

Two people representing eastern Montana schools spoke in “slight” opposition of the bill, saying its language would deny the benefits to some needy schools. Jones said he would consider amending that language.

Another bill will deal with allocating funds to the loan assistance program.