“This bill is about equity and fairness for our cops and firefighters,” Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton said.
Lawmakers say the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System has the same benefits in place for state workers, teachers and other public employees. About 4000 full-time police officers and firefighters are covered by the so-called 411 system. Nearly 4600 others who’ve retired or are no longer working as a firefighter or police officer get 411 benefits.
Representative Dave Williams is from Waterloo, one of the 49 Iowa cities where public safety employees would be covered for physical and mental conditions that develop over time.
“So many times our public safety people go into these situations and then years later suffer the consequences,” Williams said.
Representative Mary Mascher of Iowa City said the benefit changes for these employees were approved by the House a year ago, but the bill was tabled when the legislature went on hiatus due to the pandemic.
“Our firefighters and police officers have been front-line workers throughout this pandemic,” Mascher said, “and I think we owe them a debt of gratitude in terms of their willingness to put their own lives at risk to save the lives of others.”
Just before the House voted on the bill, Representative Kaufmann acknowledged several firefighters and police officers covered by the 411 system who were in the House gallery, watching the debate.
“Those are our police officers and our firefighters that not only during the pandemic but also during the duration of their career have had our backs and are going to continue to have our backs,” Kaufmann said, “and so this is our way of saying, ‘Thank you, we’ve got yours.’”
The bill passed the House unanimously. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Here’s the list of cities which have police and firefighters covered by the 411 system: Ames, Ankeny, Bettendorf, Boone, Burlington, Camanche, Carroll (police only), Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Centerville, Charles City, Clinton, Clive (police only), Council Bluffs, Creston, Davenport, Decorah, Des Moines, DeWitt (police only), Dubuque, Estherville (police only), Evansdale (police only), Fairfield, Fort Dodge, Fort Madison, Grinnell, Indianola (police only), Iowa City, Keokuk, Knoxville (police only), LeMars (police only), Maquoketa (police only), Marion, Marshalltown, Mason City, Muscatine, Newton, Oelwein, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Pella (police only), Sioux City, Spencer, Storm Lake, Urbandale, Waterloo, Waverly (police only), Webster City and West Des Moines.
