Part-time benefits examined after hotshots tragedy

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PHOENIX -- The Arizona Legislature will likely decide during its next session whether the state should provide benefits to the families of future seasonal public-safety employees killed in the line of duty.

But for the 13 Granite Mountain Hotshots who died in the Yarnell Hill Fire but were not eligible for full-time benefits, lawmakers seem to be leaning away from using state funds to provide extra aid to their survivors.

In a committee hearing on the matter Tuesday, some lawmakers discussed possible options while noting that private donations to support the families continue to grow.

"The real policy question is: What happens when a seasonal firefighter dies next week and there aren't millions of dollars in donations coming forward?" said Rep. Justin Pierce, R-Mesa, chairman of the House Public Safety, Military and Regulatory Affairs Committee.

The Yarnell Hill Fire claimed the lives of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots. The crew, which was run by the Prescott Fire Department, included six full-time and 13 seasonal firefighters. All of the six had a spouse and/or children, as did five of the 13 seasonal workers.

Survivor benefits vary widely based on the firefighter's employment level and whether he was married or had children.

Community leaders and some of the families have suggested the state should find a way to retroactively boost the benefits of the fallen seasonal firefighters, as well as analyze how the state covers part-time public-safety workers going forward.

The House Public Safety committee has taken up the issue during the legislative interim. It held a second hearing on the issue Tuesday, and several more are expected before the 2014 Legislature begins in January.

So far, the hearings have focused on how state retirement programs work, who qualifies for the benefits and what the 19 firefighters' families will receive — both from public programs and private donations.

The families of the full-time firefighters are each receiving lump-sum benefit payments averaging $428,600 and annual payments and benefits averaging $112,500.

The families of the seasonal firefighters are receiving lump-sum payments averaging $338,500. The five with a wife and/or children will also get an average of $25,500 annually. The bulk of the lump-sum payments are federal benefits, paid equally.

None will receive lifetime survivor benefits from the state Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, because they were not enrolled in the system, norpayments from Prescott's life-insurance policy or ongoing health-insurance benefits.

Federal and state taxes don't apply on nearly all of the public benefits.

Pierce said he has asked PSPRS staff how many seasonal employees the state covers and how much it would cost to include them in the PSPRS retirement program going forward. He said he has not received those answers.

"If the information comes back that it is absolutely financially infeasible, even though we should do it, then the next step is to see what we can do to make up the inequity," he said.

He said other options might be changing coverage through other state retirement programs, or developing some sort of a catastrophic life-insurance program to cover all on-duty deaths of part-time and seasonal firefighters and police officers.

"There is more than one way to do it, but this is a major policy matter and it will take a lot of people to agree," he said, predicting a legislative battle.

But although Pierce seems set on looking forward, some have lingering concerns about how to help the families of the seasonal Granite Mountain Hotshots, particularly the five with families.

The state Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimated the seasonal hotshots' families would have received $40,000 to $50,000 more annually had they qualified for the same benefits as the full-time hotshots.

Pierce said he has had calls from private donors interested in making up the difference. And when one takes into account the money those families will get from the millions of dollars in private donations already raised, Pierce said, he believes private money can cover it.

The 100 Club of Arizona has raised $4 million for the families and already distributed about $1.7 million. The United Phoenix Fire Fighters Association and Prescott Fire Fighters Charities have raised a combined $6.3 million for families. A committee has been created to determine how to distribute that money.

"This event has far exceeded any event we've ever encountered," said Sharon Knutson-Felix, 100 Club of Arizona's executive director. "I wish the outpouring were the same for every officer and firefighter."