00                            HOUSE BILL NO. 204                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to the presumption of compensability for a disability resulting from                                   
02 certain cancers in firefighters."                                                                                       
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1. AS 23.30.121(b) is amended to read:                                                                   
05            (b)  For a firefighter covered under AS 23.30.243,                                                           
06                 (1)  there is a presumption that a claim for compensation for disability                                
07       as a result of the following diseases is within the provisions of this chapter:                                   
08                      (A)  respiratory disease;                                                                          
09                      (B)  cardiovascular events that are experienced within 72 hours                                    
10            after exposure to smoke, fumes, or toxic substances; and                                                     
11                      (C)  the following cancers:                                                                        
12                           (i)  primary brain cancer;                                                                    
13                           (ii)  malignant melanoma;                                                                     
14                           (iii)  leukemia;                                                                              

01                           (iv)  non-Hodgkin's lymphoma;                                                                 
02                           (v)  bladder cancer;                                                                          
03                           (vi)  ureter cancer;                                                                          
04                           (vii)  kidney cancer; [AND]                                                                   
05                           (viii)  prostate cancer; and                                                              
06                           (ix)  breast cancer;                                                                      
07 (2)  notwithstanding AS 23.30.100(a), following termination of service,                                                 
08 the presumption established in (1) of this subsection extends to the firefighter for a                                  
09 period of three calendar months for each year of requisite service but may not extend                                   
10       more than 60 calendar months following the last date of employment;                                               
11 (3)  the presumption established in (1) of this subsection applies only to                                              
12 an active or former firefighter who has a disease described in (1) of this subsection                                   
13 that develops or manifests itself after the firefighter has served in the state for at least                            
14       seven years and who                                                                                               
15 (A)  was given a qualifying medical examination upon                                                                    
16            becoming a firefighter that did not show evidence of the disease;                                            
17 (B)  was given an annual medical exam during each of the first                                                          
18            seven years of employment that did not show evidence of the disease; and                                     
19 (C)  with regard to diseases described in (1)(C) of this                                                                
20 subsection, demonstrates that, while in the course of employment as a                                                   
21 firefighter, the firefighter was exposed to a known carcinogen, as defined by                                           
22 the International Agency for Research on Cancer or the National Toxicology                                              
23            Program, and the carcinogen is associated with a disabling cancer.                                           
24    * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to                          
25 read:                                                                                                                   
26 APPLICABILITY. AS 23.30.121(b), as amended by this Act, applies to claims made on or                                    
27 after the effective date of this Act.