Friday, May 9, 2003 | 9:27 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- While North Las Vegas firefighter Bill Harnedy may be losing his battle with cancer, he is now expected to win approval for a bill that would give fellow firefighters a clearer law linking cancer to their job.
The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Thursday replaced Assembly Bill 451 with compromise language to which both the state's professional firefighters and insurance companies agreed.
For Harnedy, who has personalized the bill in ways legislators say is usually missing from the legislative process, the bill's passage would be his legacy for his brethren in the professional fire service.
During testimony Monday in the Senate, Harnedy again discussed in harrowing detail his battle not just against a rare form of kidney cancer, but also with insurers who won't recognize a state law designating cancer as an occupational disease for firefighters.
Harnedy, 39, has undergone numerous procedures since first being diagnosed with cancer in 2001, but just last week received a rejection for an additional treatment from UCLA Medical Center because doctors don't believe he will survive much longer.
"Right now my back's against the wall and I won't live to see my 40th birthday," said Harnedy, whose birthday is in August.
On Monday it appeared AB451 was in trouble. Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, said he had trouble asking the Legislature to make a determination about which cancers are occupational diseases of firefighters for insurance purposes.
But Thursday the committee amended the bill to make it apply only to professional firefighters with five or more years of service. It also specifies the carcinogens that are "reasonably associated" with disabling cancers.
For example, diesel exhaust and formaldehyde are listed to be reasonably associated with bladder and colon cancers. Soot and vinyl chloride are known carcinogens associated with lymphatic cancer.
The bill now also specifies that the list does not preclude any person from demonstrating that other substances are known to be reasonably associated with a disabling cancer.
When Harnedy was first diagnosed he assumed his cancer was one linked to his exposure to carcinogens on the job, based on his reading of the statute. He was denied coverage based on the insurer's reading of the same law.
During Monday's testimony, Commerce and Labor Chairman Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, told Harnedy he was Nevada's version of President John F. Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage."
Harnedy had also detailed how his appeal for rejection of coverage has been delayed repeatedly. Depositions have been canceled and rescheduled, and Harnedy still has no court date.
"I really feel I got put off, hoping that I will die," Harnedy said.
The compromise bill now goes to the full Senate with Townsend's support for what is now expected to be passage. If it passes, it goes to Gov. Kenny Guinn for possible signature.
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