Arizona State Representative Justin Pierce has called for a special meeting of the House Public Safety, Military & Regulatory Affairs Committee to discuss the state’s role in providing catastrophic coverage for the uncovered members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. Nineteen members of the crew died in the Yarnell Hill Fire this summer.
Pierce intends to discuss not only providing assistance for the survivors of the hotshot crew, but how to provide similar coverage for all Arizona first responders in the event of future disasters.
The meeting was called in response to legislative language proposed by House Speaker Andy Tobin last month.
Speaker Tobin believes that legislative action is necessary and has been responsive to the surviving families’ needs. Tobin said, “The aftermath of the Yarnell Hill fire revealed the extreme vulnerability that Arizona communities are facing when it comes to the costs of first responder liabilities. I am confident that Chairman Pierce and the members of his committee will develop the necessary solutions to account for the needs of the uncovered Granite Mountain Hotshots, as well those of any future Arizona first responders.”
As part of Pierce’s effort to find solutions to the challenges laid out by Speaker Tobin, representatives from the offices of the Arizona State Retirement System (A.S.R.S.) as well as the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System of Arizona (P.S.P.R.S.) will attend the meeting.
The specific legislative priorities are as follows:
1. To reimburse any first responder entities who fought the Yarnell Hill Fire.
2. To provide financial assistance to the community of Yarnell for infrastructure repairs.
3. To cover the City of Prescott’s liability in the Death Benefit coverage for 6 of the 13 uncovered Hotshots in P.S.P.R.S.
4. To fund the amount the other 13 Hotshots would have received if they were participating in P.S.P.R.S.
5. To prospectively allow part time first responders to participate in P.S.P.R.S.
6. To create a related Arizona State Income Tax deduction option on all A-4 forms.
7. To require P.S.P.R.S. to purchase catastrophic insurance to cover the liability of any future disaster.
Representative Pierce said he was encouraged by the response he has received. “I could not be more proud of the genuine desire of my house colleagues to resolve this pressing issue facing the surviving family members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots,” said Pierce. “With the help of my fellow legislators, I fully intend to produce language that will ensure that they and all Arizona first responders will benefit from the coverage we develop.”
The Committee will meet at 1:30 pm on September 17th at the State Capitol
While Arizona legislators seek local solutions, Governor Jan Brewer sent a letter to President Obama appealing his administration’s denial of federal assistance in response to the Yarnell Hill Fire. Governor Brewer said, “I have asked President Obama to reconsider his administration’s decision to deny assistance to Arizona. I am hopeful that, as promised, President Obama will be wholly committed to the recovery and rebuilding of communities harmed by the tragic Yarnell Hill Fire.”
On July 9, following the deadliest wildfire in Arizona history and the nation’s worst in 80 years, Brewer sent a letter to Obama requesting a federal Major Disaster Declaration. One month after receiving the request, and only two months after Brewer successfully pushed Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion through the Arizona legislature, the Obama administration denied federal aid to the local residents and businesses most impacted by the Yarnell Hill Fire.