West Virginia House Speaker asks for death benefit bill to be retroactive following Pratt tragedy

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — House Speaker Tim Armstead has called for a bill that will double the death benefits for emergency personnel who die in the line of duty to be retroactively effective Jan. 1, in light of a crash that killed two members of the Pratt Volunteer Fire Department.

In a letter addressed to Gov. Jim Justice, Armstead requested that changing the effective date of Senate Bill 625 “be placed on the call for a special session if one is to be held in the near future.” The bill, among other things, would double the death benefit to $100,000 if an emergency services worker were to die in the line of duty. Under the current version of the bill, it would not take effect until June 10.