House committee advances bill to extend paid National Guard leave to law-enforcement officers

The House Committee on Public Safety reported House Bill 1602 to the full House after members heard that the bill would explicitly extend paid leave for National Guard duty to law-enforcement officers.

House Bill 1602, presented by Delegate Thomas, would amend state code to make clear that law-enforcement officers receive paid leave while completing National Guard duty. "House Bill 1602 seeks to merely expand what this committee gave to firefighters to also include law enforcement officers with paid leave while completing National Guard duty," Delegate Thomas said.

Rich Goska of the Police Benevolent Association testified in support, saying the association's members requested the bill after noting that firefighters had been covered in prior legislation. "Our members requested this bill," Goska said. "They saw the firefighters were included last year and they wanted this have the fair shot at serving their Commonwealth another capacity and having the same benefits." The committee heard no opposition testimony.

The committee vote to report the bill was 18 in favor, 0 opposed. The clerk announced the report to the floor following the electronic roll call.

The measure will next appear on the House floor calendar for further consideration.