IN THE LINE OF DUTY DEATH

AB 3478 went into effect on October 1, 1996. It provided for the elimination of the PERS remarriage penalty for line-of-duty retirement benefits. All new surviving spouses with PERS after that date will receive 100% of their benefits for life, regardless of whether they ever remarry or plan to. All surviving spouses who gave up 25% of their benefits in order to remarry or to retain the right to remarry should have been reinstated to full benefits by now, with back pay to October l' 1996. Contact PERS if you haven't received this. Any surviving spouses who gave up 100% of their benefits to remarry will be reinstated at 100% with back pay to October l' 1996, IF THEY CONTACT PERS. PERS did not keep records of these people, so you will have to take the initiative and get in touch with them yourself.

AB 3478 also provided for uninterrupted health benefit coverage for surviving dependents at the same level as they received during the officer's lifetime. Again, this is guaranteed for the life of the surviving spouse, regardless of whether he or she ever remarries, and applies to the dependents of ALL city, county or state public safety officers killed in the line of duty in California, no matter how long ago the death occurred. If your city or county cut off your medical benefits when your spouse died, they must reinstate you now at the equivalent level of benefits, even if their costs have risen during the interim, and keep you at that level or better. However, if you no longer live in the same area and the benefits offered by the city are not available where you currently live, you may be out of luck. They're only required to give you the same coverage you had before.

All new surviving dependents since October 1, 1996, should be receiving uninterrupted health benefits, the same as they had before the officer's death. If this is not the case, your city or county is in violation of the provisions of AB 3478 and the situation needs to be brought to their attention immediately.

The problem over the past year has been confusion about the wording of the health benefits portion of the bill regarding survivors prior to October 1, 1996. The intent of the legislature in passing AB 3478, and the governor in signing it, was to cover all existing survivors in addition to future ones. Assemblyman Aguiar, the author of AB 3478, wrote a letter to the Assembly Journal in January 1997 stating clearly that the intent was indeed to cover all past surviving dependents. A few cities and counties have honored the intent of the law and reinstated their past survivors to full medical benefits.

However, many have chosen to interpret that portion of the law to be prospective only, not retroactive, meaning that they intend to cover new survivors after October 1, 1996, but not existing survivors.

In response, Senator Brulte introduced SB 563, which emphatically states that ALL surviving dependents, both new and existing, are to receive the same health benefit coverage they received prior to the officer's death. It was passed unanimously in both houses, signed into law by the governor, and goes into effect on January 1, 1998.

Here is my advice for dealing with your city or county if they've been reluctant to reinstate your medical benefits: If they have already absolutely refused to reinstate you, send them a copy of SB 563 immediately so they will know that they MUST place you back on their coverage by January 1, 1998. But one way or another, by January 1, 1998, they must be picking up the tab for ALL California line-of-duty surviving dependents' medical benefits, the same as before.

If you've ignored this issue until now, it's time to start paying attention and pursue your rights. If you need copies of AB 3478, SB 563 or Assemblyman Aguiar's letter to the Assembly Journal, copies of the bills are available directly from the State Capitol at (916) 445-2323, or on the Internet at http://www.Ieginfo.ca.gov.