THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY LOGAN, TARTAGLIONE, KITCHEN, FONTANA, ERICKSON, ALLOWAY, RAFFERTY, BROWNE, WONDERLING, MUSTO, COSTA, PIPPY, FERLO, STACK, FARNESE, WARD AND WASHINGTON, FEBRUARY 20, 2009

SENATOR GORDNER, LABOR AND INDUSTRY, AS AMENDED, JUNE 23, 2009   

AN ACT

Amending the act of June 24, 1976 (P.L.424, No.101), entitled,

as amended, "An act providing for the payment of death

benefits to the surviving spouse or children or parents of

firefighters, ambulance service or rescue squad members, law

enforcement officers or National Guard members who die as a

result of the performance of their duties," further providing

for death benefit eligibility; and repealing certain

provisions of the Municipal Police Pension Law and the

Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 1 of the act of June 24, 1976 (P.L.424,

No.101), referred to as the Emergency and Law Enforcement

Personnel Death Benefits Act, amended April 2, 2002 (P.L.213,

No.20), October 6, 2005 (P.L.319, No.59) and July 2, 2007 (P.L.

68, No.21), is amended to read:

Section 1.  (a)  In the event a law enforcement officer,

ambulance service or rescue squad member, firefighter, certified

hazardous material response team member or National Guard member

dies as a result of the performance of his duties, such

political subdivision, Commonwealth agency or, in the case of

National Guard members, the Adjutant General, or, in the case of

a member of a Commonwealth law enforcement agency, the

authorized survivor or the agency head, within [30] 90 days from

the date of death, shall submit certification of such death to

the Commonwealth.

(a.1)  A firefighter, ambulance service or rescue squad

member, law enforcement officer, certified hazardous material

response team member or National Guard member who suffers a

fatal heart attack or stroke while on duty or not later than 24

hours after participating in a physical training exercise or

responding to an emergency is presumed to have died as a result

of the performance of his duties for purposes of this act.

(b)  A volunteer firefighter shall be deemed to be acting in

the performance of his duties for the purposes of this act going

to or directly returning from a fire which the fire company or

fire department attended including travel from and direct return

to a firefighter's home, place of business or other place where

he or she shall have been when he or she received the call or

alarm or while participating in instruction fire drills in which

the fire department or fire company shall have participated or

while repairing or doing other work about or on the fire

apparatus or buildings and grounds of the fire company or fire

department upon the authorization of the chief of the fire

company or fire department or other person in charge or while

answering any emergency calls for any purpose or while riding

upon the fire apparatus which is owned or used by the fire

company or fire department or while performing any other duties

of such fire company or fire department as authorized by the

municipality or while performing duties imposed by section 15,

act of April 27, 1927 (P.L.465, No.299), referred to as the Fire

and Panic Act.

(c)  A volunteer ambulance service, certified hazardous

material response team or rescue squad member shall be deemed to

be acting in the performance of his duties for the purposes of

this act going to or directly returning from an emergency which

the ambulance service, certified hazardous material response

team or rescue squad attended including travel from and direct

return to an ambulance service, certified hazardous material

response team or rescue squad member's home, place of business

or other place where he or she shall have been when he or she

received the call or alarm or while participating in drills in

which the ambulance service, certified hazardous material

response team or rescue squad shall have participated or while

repairing or doing other work about or on any emergency vehicle

or buildings and grounds of the ambulance service, certified

hazardous material response team or rescue squad upon the

authorization of the chief of the ambulance service, certified

hazardous material response team or rescue squad or other person

in charge while answering any emergency calls for any purpose or

while riding upon any vehicles which are owned or used by the

ambulance service, certified hazardous material response team or

rescue squad.

(d)  Upon receipt of such certification, the Commonwealth

shall, from moneys payable out of the General Fund, pay to the

[political subdivision] surviving spouse or, if there is no

surviving spouse, to the minor children of the paid firefighter,

ambulance service or rescue squad member or law enforcement

officer who died as a result of the performance of his duty the

sum of $100,000, adjusted in accordance with subsection (f) of

this section[. If the deceased was a member of a team organized

under a Commonwealth agency, the death benefit shall be paid to

the Commonwealth agency instead of the political subdivision.

Within five days of receipt of said sum from the Commonwealth,

the political subdivision or Commonwealth agency shall pay such

sum as a benefit to the surviving spouse, or if there is no

surviving spouse, to the minor children of the firefighter,

ambulance service member, certified hazardous material response

team member, rescue squad member or law enforcement officer who

died as a result of the performance of his duty.], and an amount

equal to the monthly salary, adjusted in accordance with

subsection (f) of this section, of the deceased paid

firefighter, ambulance service or rescue squad member or law

enforcement officer, less any workers' compensation or pension

or retirement benefits paid to such survivors, and shall

continue such monthly payments until there is no eligible

beneficiary to receive them. For the purpose of this subsection,

the term "eligible beneficiary" means the surviving spouse or

the child or children under the age of eighteen years or, if

attending college, under the age of twenty-three years, of the

firefighter, ambulance service or rescue squad member or law

enforcement officer who died as a result of the performance of

his duty. When no spouse or minor children survive, [the

benefit] a single sum of $100,000, adjusted in accordance with

subsection (f) of this section, shall be paid to the parent or

parents of such firefighter, ambulance service member, certified

hazardous material response team member, rescue squad member or

law enforcement officer. 

(e)  The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall pay out of the

General Fund to the surviving spouse or, if there is no

surviving spouse, the minor children of a National Guard member,

[State police officer or other law enforcement officer of the

Commonwealth] volunteer firefighter, ambulance service or rescue

squad member who died as a result of the performance of his

duties the sum of $100,000, adjusted in accordance with

subsection (f) of this section. When no spouse or minor children

survive, the benefit shall be paid to the parent or parents of

such National Guard member, [State police officer or other law

enforcement officer of the Commonwealth] volunteer firefighter,

ambulance service or rescue squad member. The benefit shall be

payable whether or not the National Guard member or [officer] 

volunteer firefighter, ambulance service or rescue squad member 

died as a result of the performance of his duty within the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

(f)  On July 1, [2006] 2010, and each July 1 thereafter, the

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Commonwealth shall adjust the level of the benefit payable

immediately before July 1 under subsections (d) and (e) of this

section to reflect the annual percentage change in the Consumer

Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the United

States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Labor Statistics,

occurring in the one-year period ending on January 1 immediately

preceding July 1.

(g)  A National Guard member shall be deemed to be acting in

the performance of his duties for the purposes of this act when:

(1)  his death occurs in an official duty status

authorized under 51 Pa.C.S. § 508 (relating to active State

duty for emergency); or

(2)  going directly to or from the place of such duties.

Section 2.  Repeals are as follows:

(1)  The General Assembly declares that the repeals under

paragraph (2) are necessary to effectuate the amendment of

section 1 of the act.

(2)  The following parts of acts are repealed:

(i)  Section 5(e)(2) of the act of May 29, 1956 (1955

P.L.1804, No.600), referred to as the Municipal Police

Pension Law.

(ii)  Section 202(b)(3)(vi) and (4)(vi) of the act of

December 18, 1984 (P.L.1005, No.205), known as the

Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act.

Section 3.  This act shall take effect in 60 days 

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immediately.

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