Topeka ? Legislators are proposing that the state pay for a life insurance policy available to Kansas National Guard members called to active duty in a combat zone.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, and Rep. Harold Lane, D-Topeka, said Thursday they would be filing a bill that would appropriate $390,000 to the Kansas National Guard to pay the life insurance premiums. The premiums provide $250,000 in coverage and cost $16.25 a month.

The bill is an alternative to a one-time death benefit legislators approved during this year’s session, which gives $250,0000 to the survivors of any Kansas National Guard member killed in combat. Some legislators have been concerned that such a policy creates a potential liability the state would be hard-pressed to satisfy.

“We feel like this is a reasonable alternative to limit our liability and still take care of our families,” Hensley said.

There are some 7,600 Kansas Air and Army National Guard members, and about 1,400 of them are in Iraq.

Three Guard members have died in Iraq. On Nov. 8, 1st Sgt. Clinton Wisdom, 39, of Atchison and Sgt. Don Clary, 21, of Troy were killed. Sgt. Derrick J. Lutters, 24, who grew up in Goodland but lived in Burlington, Colo., was killed May 1.

Several states, including Georgia, New Mexico and Oklahoma have similar laws to pay the premiums for Guard members.

Currently, the federal government pays the premiums for an initial $150,000 life insurance policy. Guard members can buy policies up to $250,000 in additional coverage. In addition, the federal government pays a one-time $100,000 death benefit to the survivors of any service member killed.

House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, and House Minority Leader Dennis McKinney, D-Greensburg, have signed on as supporters of the bill.

Hensley and Lane said they had asked other legislators to co-sponsor the bill, which is expected to be filed later this summer. The bill will be studied by members of the House and Senate budget committees and debated during the next legislative session.

The legislators said the bill, matched with other elements of the Military Bill of Rights, provided a comprehensive benefits package for Guard members and their families. It also is a recognition that the traditional role of Guard members had moved in recent years from a domestic Army to a vital cog in the nation’s defenses.

“It’s more than many (Guard members) thought would happen,” Hensley said. “The state has an obligation to protect those who will die in the future.”