Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!

Bill to raise burial payment to $10,000 for volunteer emergency responders presented to committee

March 12, 2025 | 2025 Legislature DE Collection, Delaware

Subscribe

This article was created by AI summarizing key points discussed. AI makes mistakes, so for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Please report any errors so we can fix them. Report an error »

Bill to raise burial payment to $10,000 for volunteer emergency responders presented to committee
Senator Brown introduced Senate Bill 29, which would raise the funeral expense payment for qualifying members of volunteer fire companies, ladies auxiliaries and volunteer ambulance and rescue companies to $10,000. The sponsor said the bill clarifies that payments would be administered from the same state self‑insurance fund used for other line‑of‑duty disability benefits and included technical drafting corrections; the bill’s effective date is Oct. 1, 2025.

Tom DeCristofaro, president of the DVFA, and other volunteer‑service witnesses spoke in favor of the increase, noting the last change to burial benefits occurred in 2001 and that modern funeral costs often exceed the current statutory amounts. Chris Haas of the Department of Insurance said the amendment clarifies that the state self‑insurance fund will cover these payments as it does for other line‑of‑duty benefits. Public comment reiterated support from the volunteer community; the hearing transcript does not show a committee vote on SB 29.

View full meeting

This article is based on a recent meeting—watch the full video and explore the complete transcript for deeper insights into the discussion.

View full meeting

Sponsors

Proudly supported by sponsors who keep Delaware articles free in 2025

Scribe from Workplace AI
Scribe from Workplace AI