HB28 Alabama 2025 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Ed OliverRepresentative

Republican

Session

2025 Regular Session

Title

Death benefits, grants state death benefits to coroners, deputy coroners, medicolegal death investigators, and medical examiners

Summary

HB28 would add coroners, deputy coroners, medicolegal death investigators, and medical examiners as first responders for state death benefits and create related COVID-19 death and disability benefits for certain responders.

What This Bill Does

It designates coroners, deputy coroners, medicolegal death investigators, and medical examiners as first responders for the purposes of state death benefits. It creates a $100,000 COVID-19 death benefit for beneficiaries of a first responder who dies from COVID-19 contracted between March 13, 2020 and December 31, 2022, payable from the State Treasury and with specific eligibility rules (including exceptions for misconduct, intoxication, or rule violations, and regardless of vaccination or mask usage). It also provides a $100,000 disability benefit for totally disabled volunteer firefighters or organized rescue squad members injured while performing duties, with a defined process for determining disability, an annual CPI-based adjustment to benefits, and retroactive provisions for earlier deaths; the act takes effect on October 1, 2025.

Who It Affects

• Coroners, deputy coroners, medicolegal death investigators, and medical examiners would become eligible first responders for state death benefits.
• Beneficiaries of those officials (such as spouses and dependent children) and certain volunteer responders (volunteer firefighters and organized rescue squad members) could receive new death or disability benefits and related dependents would be eligible for these benefits.

Key Provisions

• Amends Sections 36-30-1 and 36-30-2 to add coroners, deputy coroners, medicolegal death investigators, and medical examiners to the defined list of first responders for state death benefits.
• Authorized COVID-19 death benefit of $100,000 to be paid from the State Treasury to beneficiaries of a first responder who dies from COVID-19 contracted between March 13, 2020 and December 31, 2022, with exceptions for willful misconduct, intoxication, safety-rule violations, or neglect; the benefit applies regardless of vaccination status or mask-wearing.
• Provides a $100,000 disability benefit for totally disabled volunteer firefighters or organized rescue squad members injured in the line of duty, including definitions of total disability and a 30-day decision period by the State Health Officer; allows appeals to the State Board of Adjustment; includes annual CPI adjustments to benefit amounts; and contains retroactive provisions for certain prior deaths.
• Includes retroactive applicability to deaths covered after January 1, 2019 and to COVID-19 deaths occurring between March 13, 2020 and December 31, 2022; effective date of October 1, 2025.

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

Subjects

State & State Officers