NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A bill aimed at paying firefighter’s families more should their loved one die in the line of duty is on to its next committee.
Currently, if a firefighter does die in the line of duty, their family is paid is $250,000 in supplemental pay.
House Bill 277 would increase that pay to a million dollars. Last year, a similar bill was passed for police officers killed in action.
The bill will also pay out to the families of the first responders killed in the Metro 2 Helicopter crash last year.
The bill has garnered support from both sides in a show of bipartisanship.
The bill will be heard next in the House Government, Elections, and Indian Affairs Committe before making its way to the floor.
