Freshman Lawmaker Pushes for Better Police Death Bennies

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) The first order of business for one freshman Utah Senator is to increase the amount of death benefit families of retired police officers can receive. Senator Jon Greiner has been Ogden Police Chief for more than a decade, so the measure has personal implications.

In Utah, the families of retired police officers who pass away receive 65-percent of the allowance being paid to the retiree at the time of death. That benefit is ten percent higher for Utah firefighters.

Greiner wants to raise the benefit for public safety employees to 75-percent, too, and says people who put themselves in harm's way deserve better compensation. There are five times as many police officers in the Utah Retirement System as firefighters, and legislative analysts have yet to determine the cost of Greiner's proposal.

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