HB223 Alabama 2024 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Allen TreadawayRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2024

Title

State Firefighters, provide for additional occupational disabilities

Summary

HB223 would add Parkinson's disease to the list of firefighter occupational diseases and establish a standard to prove work-related origin for disability or death benefits, with technical updates to the law.

What This Bill Does

It adds Parkinson's disease to the conditions recognized as occupational diseases for firefighters. It creates a presumption that Parkinson's disease is work-related if the firefighter was exposed to a toxin linked to higher risk, while allowing the city or state to rebut with evidence of non-occupational causes by a preponderance of the evidence. It preserves disability and death benefits for eligible firefighters and outlines eligibility criteria, including service years and entry-exam requirements, while updating terminology to current style. It becomes effective October 1, 2024.

Who It Affects

• Municipal (city) firefighters who may qualify for disability or death benefits if Parkinson's disease is shown to be occupational and meets the new standard.
• State firefighters who may qualify for disability or death benefits under the same Parkinson's disease occupational-disease framework.

Key Provisions

• Parkinson's disease is added to the list of firefighter occupational diseases, with a requirement that it must manifest during service and be linked to exposure to a toxin associated with increased risk.
• Parkinson's disease is presumed to arise out of the firefighter's employment unless the employing city or state proves by a preponderance of the evidence that non-occupational causes were responsible.
• Eligibility rules for benefits are maintained or clarified for firefighters with at least three years of service, including conditions related to entry physical exams and historical eligibility if exams were not required.
• Disability and death benefits for eligible firefighters with occupational disease would be paid the same as other service-connected disabilities and line-of-duty deaths, with disease-specific considerations under the new standard.
• The bill includes non-substantive, technical revisions to update code language to current style and deletes duplicative language.
• The act takes effect on October 1, 2024.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Government Administration