Four lawmakers are drafting a bill to provide full scholarships to the children of police and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty.
The lawmakers, all Republicans, are Sen. Richard Stevens of Cary, Sen. Fletcher Hartsell of Concord, Rep. Charles Thomas of Asheville and Rep. Thom Tillis of Huntersville plan to introduce bills in the house and senate in when the General Assembly reconvenes in May.
The scholarships would apply to state public universities or community colleges.
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Re: Scholarships for children of fallen police and firefighters
At first blush, there is a tendency to say this is a nice gesture and isn't without merit, but who will look after the children of hardworking citizens who "die while working". Don't these children deserve the same level of consideration?
So, maybe the proposed legislation should not only include our public safety officers, but any citizen who has a good record of working during their adult lives and lived responsibily while raising a family.
Still, I would like to see the proposed legislation because, as they say, the devil is in the details, and these men are politicians. If they were wanting to do good, perhaps they would have helped pass the Employer-Employee type legislation in the past session that would have given these officers the right to collective bargaining. Maybe they did?
In the end, if the legislation were written to truly benefit them, I would likely support it because most of these men and women aren't paid a decent wage and the work they do is as important as any I know. This would be a targeted benefit hopefully few would receive.