ATLANTA — The State of Georgia already provides grants for educational needs to the children of fallen or disabled officers, firefighters and correctional guards.
Now, lawmakers are working to expand those grants to include their spouses.
House Bill 56 proposes to expand the number of family members eligible for the grants when law enforcement officers, firefighters or prison guards are killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty.
Under the provisions of the bill, eligible students for the grants would be expanded in order to accommodate the change, with the legislative text still allowing for volunteer firefighters, law enforcement officers and prison guards’ families to be taken care of in the event of a tragedy.
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However, there are slightly different stipulations for each position.
According to HB 56, volunteer firefighters’ spouses and children would be eligible if they are killed or disabled while on duty and responding to emergencies, as well as when they’re returning from doing so, or are performing lifesaving duties for life and property in training exercises.
For law enforcement officers and non-volunteer firefighters, the spouses and children of paid officers and firefighters are eligible when responding to situations that would save a life, preserve the peace or prevent or attempt to prevent the commission of a crime or a fire.
Prison guards’ families would be eligible only if the guard is killed or disabled while on duty.
If the bill is passed, it would also expand who can apply for the benefits now. Previous versions of the statute set the cutoff time as cases that occurred before July 1, 1980.
Going forward, that date is now July 1, 2025. That means there are options for retroactive benefits to be applied, in addition to those impacted by a loss or injury in the present. The bill did not specify how many Georgians may be able to benefit from these expansions.
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