Crisco backs bill to help firefighters facing cancer diagnosis

HARTFORD - State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., D-Woodbridge, voted Tuesday in support of a bill that creates a firefighters’ cancer relief program and account to provide wage replacement benefits for certain paid and volunteer firefighters who are diagnosed with cancer.

State Sen. Joseph J. Crisco

The bill passed the Senate on an overwhelmingly bipartisan and nearly unanimous 34-1 vote after passing the House of Representatives last week on a unanimous 141-0 vote. 
The bill now heads to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for his consideration.

Crisco spoke in favor of the bill in the Senate chamber.

“There are towns in my region that are completely staffed by volunteer firefighters, thereby saving communities millions of dollars in full-time salary costs,” Crisco said. ‘I want to thank our firefighters for their professionalism and their sacrifice to our communities, and this vote is one way to do that.” 

The bill establishes a new cancer relief subcommittee of the Connecticut State Firefighters Association to award benefits to firefighters beginning July 1, 2019.

The wage replacement benefits must be approved by the subcommittee, wages cannot be provided for more than two years, and the bill prevents a firefighter who receives benefits from the account from simultaneously receiving unemployment or workers’ compensation benefits or any other municipal, state or federal wage replacement benefits

The account will be funded through a diversion of 1-cent per month per phone line from the enhanced emergency 9-1-1-program, which is funded through a monthly subscriber fee.

This is a release from Crisco's office.