Benham bill closing firefighter pension loophole passes Senate; dispatcher bill clears committee
Rep. Jessica Benham April 21, 2026 | 4:02 PM
HARRISBURG, APRIL 21 – Today, legislation (H.B. 797) sponsored by state Rep. Jessica Benham, passed the Pennsylvania State Senate by a unanimous 48-0 vote.
The bill, also known as the Second Class City Firemen Relief Law, would allow the surviving spouse of a deceased firefighter in a Second Class City to continue to receive pension benefits, even after the spouse remarries. In Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh is the only city under Second Class City classification.
Current law requires that pension payments are discontinued if a surviving spouse remarries. Pittsburgh firefighters are the only professional firefighters in Pennsylvania whose pensions are subject to such a provision. In 2006, the provision ending pension benefits for surviving spouses of Pittsburgh police officers upon remarriage was repealed, but firefighters did not benefit from that repeal.
Benham’s bill passed the PA House on April 22, 2025, by a unanimous 203-0 vote, and was approved by the Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee, 11-0, on June 24, 2025.
“Firefighters in Pittsburgh risk their lives for the safety of our communities, and their families deserve our support,” Benham said. “This archaic provision should not continue to cause undue stress to the surviving spouses of Pittsburgh firefighters, who deserve our recognition of their sacrifices and the ability to move forward with their lives. I applaud the Senate for passing this legislation.”
Pittsburgh Fire Fighters President Ralph Sicuro said today’s vote is “a meaningful and compassionate step forward for Pittsburgh’s firefighters and their families.”
“No one should have to choose between moving forward in life and losing the benefits their loved one earned through service and sacrifice,” Sicuro said. “We are grateful to Representative Benham for recognizing this injustice and working so hard to correct it. This legislation honors not only our fallen firefighters, but also the families who stand behind them.”
Also today, another Benham-sponsored bill, H.B. 453, advanced unanimously from the Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee. The bill would recognize 9-1-1 telecommunicators as emergency responders, giving them additional support in mutual aid among emergency response agencies and adding telecommunicators in the Emergency Responder Mental Wellness and Stress Management program.
“9-1-1 telecommunicators are the literal first responders to emergencies every single day, and it’s time we recognize the critical information and support they provide as callers wait for help to arrive onsite,” Benham said. “This bill would codify that dispatchers should not be classified as clerical workers, but rather as first responders, with the associated resources and benefits. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to act on this legislation.”