Death benefit enhancement for firefighters and police remembers Dominick Marino
The Senate and Assembly on Monday, Nov. 16, both passed S-487 (Sacco / Stack) and A-2317 (Jimenez / Mejia), which enhances the accidental death benefit of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS) for a member’s surviving spouse.
Dominick Marino, the late past-president of the Professional Firefighters Association of New Jersey (IAFF/AFL-CIO) and a former member of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO Executive Board, was the impetus for this bill.
Currently, that benefit is 70% of the compensation upon which contributions by the member to PFRS were based in the last year of creditable service. The bill provides an alternative benefit, if larger, of $50,000 annually.
The bills passed unanimously in the Senate, 39-0, and the Assembly, 74-0. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO thanks all the legislators who voted in support of these bills as well as the affiliated unions that worked tirelessly to advance them.
The New Jersey State AFL-CIO also thanks Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-3rd District, for sponsoring and passing “Buy American” legislation (S-853). The bill that passed the Senate on Monday, Nov. 16, by a 39-0 vote would require that American-manufactured steel must be used in large-scale road and bridge construction.
If enacted, the bill will help create American jobs throughout the nation. The New Jersey State AFL-CIO worked closely with the United Steelworkers to achieve passage of this bill.