Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 984
By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
and Senators DiCeglie, Smith, and Arrington
585-02773-26 2026984c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to firefighter cancer benefits and
3 prevention; amending s. 112.1816, F.S.; revising
4 conditions under which a specified one-time payment
5 must be made by a former employer upon a firefighter’s
6 cancer diagnosis; requiring a former employer to
7 provide death benefits for a specified timeframe under
8 certain circumstances; deleting the requirement for
9 the Division of State Fire Marshal to adopt rules for
10 establishing employer cancer prevention best
11 practices; providing a finding and declaration of
12 important state interest; providing an effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Subsection (2), paragraph (c) of subsection (4),
17 and subsection (6) of section 112.1816, Florida Statutes, are
18 amended to read:
19 112.1816 Firefighters; cancer diagnosis.—
20 (2) Upon a diagnosis of cancer, a firefighter is entitled
21 to the following benefits, as an alternative to pursuing
22 workers’ compensation benefits under chapter 440, if the
23 firefighter has been employed by his or her employer for at
24 least 5 continuous years, has not used tobacco products for at
25 least the preceding 5 years, and has not been employed in any
26 other position in the preceding 5 years which is proven to
27 create a higher risk for any cancer:
28 (a) Cancer treatment covered within an employer-sponsored
29 health plan or through a group health insurance trust fund. The
30 employer must timely reimburse the firefighter for any out-of
31 pocket deductible, copayment, or coinsurance costs incurred due
32 to the treatment of cancer. If the firefighter elects to
33 continue coverage in the employer-sponsored health plan or group
34 health insurance trust fund after he or she terminates
35 employment, such benefits must be made available by his or her
36 former employer for 10 years after the date on which the
37 firefighter terminated employment so long as the firefighter
38 otherwise met the criteria specified in this subsection when he
39 or she terminated employment and was not employed as a
40 firefighter after that date.
41 (b) A one-time cash payout of $25,000, upon the
42 firefighter’s initial diagnosis of cancer. Such benefit must be
43 made available by his or her former employer for 10 years after
44 the date on which the firefighter terminates employment so long
45 as the firefighter otherwise met the criteria specified in this
46 subsection when he or she terminated employment and was not
47 employed as a firefighter after that date.
48 (c) Leave time and employee retention benefits equivalent
49 to those provided for other injuries or illnesses incurred in
50 the line of duty.
51
52 If the firefighter elects to continue coverage in the employer
53 sponsored health plan or group health insurance trust fund after
54 he or she terminates employment, the benefits specified in
55 paragraphs (a) and (b) must be made available by the former
56 employer of a firefighter for 10 years following the date on
57 which the firefighter terminates employment so long as the
58 firefighter otherwise met the criteria specified in this
59 subsection when he or she terminated employment and was not
60 subsequently employed as a firefighter following that date.
61 (4)
62 (c) Firefighters who die as a result of cancer or
63 circumstances that arise out of the treatment of cancer are
64 considered to have died in the manner as described in s.
65 112.191(2)(a), and all of the benefits arising out of such death
66 are available to the deceased firefighter’s beneficiary. Such
67 death benefits must be made available by the former employer of
68 the firefighter for 1 year after the date on which the
69 firefighter terminated employment so long as the firefighter
70 otherwise met the criteria specified in this subsection when he
71 or she terminated employment and was not employed as a
72 firefighter after that date.
73 (6) The Division of State Fire Marshal within the
74 Department of Financial Services shall adopt rules to establish
75 employer cancer prevention best practices as it relates to
76 personal protective equipment, decontamination, fire suppression
77 apparatus, and fire stations.
78 Section 2. The Legislature finds and declares that this act
79 fulfills an important state interest.
80 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.