In liability and compensation, further providing for computation of benefits.
Summary
SB1304 amends Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act to increase the maximum burial expense benefit payable in a death case. Under current law, the employer or insurer may pay up to $7,000 for reasonable burial expenses; this bill raises that cap to $20,000. The payment would continue to be made directly to the undertaker, and the change would apply regardless of whether the deceased worker had dependents.
The bill is narrowly focused on one component of workers’ compensation death benefits: funeral and burial costs. It does not alter wage-loss benefits, dependency benefits, medical benefits, or the overall structure of compensation under the act. The measure would take effect 60 days after enactment and would amend Section 307(7) of the Workers’ Compensation Act.
Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes provided, there is no documented debate or formal vote history to gauge legislative sentiment. Based on the bill’s text and sponsorship, the proposal appears to be a straightforward benefit increase intended to update an outdated burial allowance and better reflect current funeral costs.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Potential areas of debate, if any, would likely center on the size of the increase, the cost impact on employers and workers’ compensation insurers, and whether the burial allowance should be indexed or adjusted by a different formula rather than set at a fixed dollar amount.
Impact
SB1304 would amend Section 307(7) of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act to raise the maximum reimbursable burial expense from $7,000 to $20,000. This directly affects employers and workers’ compensation insurers by increasing the amount payable in fatal workplace injury cases, while expanding the benefit available to cover funeral and burial costs for deceased workers. The bill does not change eligibility rules or other compensation categories, and it would take effect 60 days after enactment.
Sentiment
No committee discussion or vote record was provided, so there is no direct evidence of legislative sentiment from hearings or floor action. The bill’s sponsorship and limited scope suggest a generally supportive, practical approach aimed at updating a long-standing benefit cap to better match present-day burial costs. The available materials do not indicate organized opposition or divided views.
Contention
The provided record contains no explicit controversy or recorded objections. If debated, the likely issues would be fiscal: whether increasing the burial benefit from $7,000 to $20,000 is appropriate, how much it would raise costs for employers and insurers, and whether a fixed increase should instead be tied to inflation or another adjustment mechanism. No specific stakeholders are identified in the materials as opposing or supporting those concerns.
In liability and compensation, further providing for schedule of compensation; and, in Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund, further providing for claims.