While Colorado lawmakers in March celebrated the passage of a bill to provide health benefits to the families of fallen state employees, families who lost health benefits when a city or county employee dies in the line of duty could only watch from the sidelines.

Republican state Sen. Bob Gardner of Colorado Springs saw that, too, and this week put forward a bill that could help those families.

On Feb. 5, El Paso County Deputy Micah Flick died in the line of duty after responding to a call about a motor vehicle theft. The suspect died in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement officers. El Paso County officials quickly amended county policy to provide Flick’s family with health benefits free of charge for a year, and that change would also apply to families of other county employees who die on the job.

Flick was the third local police officer in barely more than a month to die on the job. Douglas County Deputy Zackari Parrish died on Dec. 31, 2017, in an ambush in a Highlands Ranch apartment complex. The suspect in that shooting committed suicide.

After Parrish was fatally shot, Douglas County officials also changed their policy. The county chose to cover the cost of his family’s benefits for a year after learning that it otherwise would have been discontinued the next day, county spokeswoman Wendy Manitta Holmes told The Gazette in February, adding that the county was in the process of finalizing a similar policy for future line-of-duty employee deaths.

On Jan. 24, Adams County deputy Heath Gumm was shot and killed in the line of duty in Thornton. A suspect was arrested that same night.

In Adams County, families of employees who die in the line of duty continue receiving health benefits until the spouse remarries or becomes eligible for Medicare, or when a child is no longer eligible, according to a policy excerpt from Adams County. Part of the cost is covered by the county.

A state law signed March 7 by Gov. John Hickenlooper extends health coverage benefits for families of state employees who die on the job.

That bill drew strong support from the family of Colorado State Patrol officer Cody Donahue, who was run over by a motorist who failed to yield to an emergency vehicle. Donahue’s widow, Velma, found out shortly after his Nov. 25, 2016 death that his state employee-paid health insurance would run out at the end of the month.

That measure – Senate Bill 148 – had won near-unanimous approval, a 63-1 vote in the House and 35-0 in the Senate. The bill extends health benefits coverage for families of state employees who die on the job.

But that left open the question of how to help families of local government employees, like those who lost their loved ones in January and February.

The new measure, Senate Bill 247, sets up a fund to pay for extended health benefits for the families of police officers or firefighters. Local governments would be responsible for putting up the money for the benefits.

The Colorado Municipal League, which represents municipalities across Colorado, is neutral on the bill, which is not yet scheduled for its first hearing.

Erin Prater of Colorado Politics and The Gazette’s Rachel Riley contributed to this report.