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Senate Passes Pileggi Bill Expanding Tuition
Payments to Families
of Sheriffs and Deputies Killed in Line of Duty
HARRISBURG -- The
Pennsylvania Senate today passed legislation by Senator Dominic Pileggi (R-9) to
expand the Police Officer, Firefighter, Correction Employee, and National Guard
Member Child Beneficiary Education Act of 1998 and make families of Sheriffs and
Deputy Sheriffs eligible for tuition payments at state universities.
“I introduced this
legislation last fall after four Deputy Sheriffs in my district came under fire
while serving an eviction notice. Two of them were shot and wounded. This past
March, in Bradford County, two sheriff’s deputies lost their lives in the line
of duty,” Pileggi said.
According to the senator,
Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs face the same dangers as other law enforcement
officers and deserve the same consideration.
Pileggi said Senate Bill 931,
if passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the Governor, would be
retroactive to January 1st of this year.
He noted that the legislation
is a companion bill to his Senate Bill 930, which would extend Heart and Lung
benefits to include Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs. “Our Sheriffs and Deputy
Sheriffs face dangers every day as they carry out their duties and
responsibilities around the Commonwealth,” Pileggi said. “We need to provide
the same benefits to them that we do for other law enforcement officers who
place their lives at risk.”
Senate Bill 931 will now be
considered by the House of Representatives.
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