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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 4, 2015 03:29 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Kim L. Ward |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Campus police officers killed in the line of duty |
| I am introducing legislation extending the benefits provided through the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act to the families of campus police officers who are killed in the line of duty. The Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act (Act 101 of 1976) grants a one-time payment of death benefits to either the surviving spouse, or if there is no spouse then to the minor children of firefighters, ambulance or rescue squad members, and law enforcement officers killed in the performance of their duties. If there are no surviving spouse or children, then the benefit is paid to the parents of the person killed in the line of duty. The death must be related to the performance of duties. The benefit, which is adjusted annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, is $127,476.53 for Fiscal Year 2014-2015. I recently learned the families of campus police officers are not eligible for this benefit. Pennsylvania colleges and universities have some of the largest private police forces in the country. Many serve daily in crime-ridden areas, regularly break-up violence among individuals and assist local law enforcement in ways that directly put them in harm’s way. All of them work to protect the health, safety and welfare of our young people on their college campuses. My legislation will amend Act 101 by giving its line-of-duty death benefit to the families of campus police employed by a State-aided or State-related college or university who have successfully completed a campus police course of training under the MPOTEC. I welcome you to join me in co-sponsoring this effort. |
Introduced as SB581