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Read. Follow. Verify.Alabama provides line-of-duty death benefits to survivors of volunteer firefighters who die from cancer
Last action · April 17, 2026: EnactedSponsor: Pettus
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What This Bill Does
Alabama enacts a law allowing beneficiaries and dependents of volunteer firefighters to receive line-of-duty death benefits if the firefighter dies from cancer linked to carcinogen exposure during fire suppression events, effective October 1, 2026.
Survivors of volunteer firefighters who succumb to specified forms of cancer gain eligibility for financial compensation through the State Board of Adjustment, provided service duration, clean entry physicals, and exposure records meet statutory thresholds.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Volunteer firefighters
Their survivors become eligible for line-of-duty death benefits if they die from specified cancers and meet service, physical, and exposure documentation requirements.
Beneficiaries or dependents of volunteer firefighters
They gain the right to file claims for line-of-duty death compensation through the State Board of Adjustment.
Volunteer and combination fire departments
They are required to maintain records indicating that fire suppression events exposed participating firefighters to known carcinogens.
State Board of Adjustment
The board must process claims for compensation submitted by or on behalf of beneficiaries or dependents under the new statutory criteria.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of cancer are covered under this law for volunteer firefighters?
How many years of service must a volunteer firefighter have completed to qualify?
What evidentiary standard is used if a carcinogen exposure is linked to the cancer resulting in death?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Became law.
Procedural history
16 actions- Apr 17, 2026HouseEnrolledEnacted
- Apr 9, 2026HouseEnrolledDelivered to Governor
- Apr 9, 2026SenateSignature Requested
- Apr 9, 2026HouseEnrolled
- Apr 9, 2026HouseReady to Enroll
- Apr 8, 2026SenateFloorMotion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 1278
Show 10 earlier actions
- Mar 19, 2026SenateRead for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
- Mar 18, 2026SenateCommitteeReported Out of Committee Second House
- Feb 25, 2026SenateCommitteePending Committee Action in Second House
- Feb 25, 2026SenateIntroducedRead for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance and Taxation General Fund
- Feb 24, 2026HouseFloorMotion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 548
- Feb 24, 2026HouseThird Reading in House of Origin
- Feb 5, 2026HouseRead for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
- Feb 4, 2026HouseCommitteeReported Out of Committee House of Origin
- Jan 14, 2026HouseCommitteePending Committee Action in House of Origin
- Jan 14, 2026HouseIntroducedRead for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means General Fund
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Extension of Line-of-Duty Status to Volunteer Firefighters for Occupational Cancer
The act explicitly bridges volunteer service and presumptive occupational illness compensation under existing Alabama code provisions.
Connected Entities
Sources
alison.legislature.state.al.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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