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S1310......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS - Amends existing law to provide for the payment of
death benefits to family members of firefighters, paramedics or emergency
medical technicians (public safety officers) who are killed in the
performance of their duty.
01/21 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/22 Rpt prt - to St Aff
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-sixth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2002
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1310
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO THE STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS; AMENDING SECTION 67-2028, IDAHO
3 CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE PAYMENT OF DEATH BENEFITS TO FAMILY MEMBERS OF
4 IDAHO RESIDENTS WHO ARE PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS KILLED IN THE PERFORMANCE
5 OF DUTY, TO PROVIDE REFERENCES TO "PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER," TO MAKE GRAM-
6 MATICAL CHANGES, TO REMOVE A DATE REFERENCE AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL COR-
7 RECTION.
8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
9 SECTION 1. That Section 67-2028, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
10 amended to read as follows:
11 67-2028. LAW ENFORCEMENT PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER DEATH BENEFITS. (1) After
12 January 1, 2001, iIn the event a certified peace officer, detention officer,
13 or correctional officer, firefighter, paramedic or emergency medical techni-
14 cian (hereinafter referred to as "public safety officer") who is a resident of
15 the state of Idaho and in the employ of, or volunteering for, the state or a
16 political subdivision of the state is killed in the performance of the public
17 safety officer's duty, the board of examiners shall authorize the payment of
18 funds for the purpose of distributing a death benefit to the slain deceased
19 public safety officer's family. After the board of examiners is satisfied that
20 the circumstances of the death occurred in the performance of the public
21 safety officer's duty, it shall authorize the issuance of a deficiency war-
22 rant. In the event that the board of examiners is uncertain as to the circum-
23 stances of the death, it may postpone the authorization of such payment until
24 the head of the responsible investigative agency provides an official report
25 of the incident. Upon authorization of the deficiency warrant by the board of
26 examiners, the state controller shall, after notice to the state treasurer,
27 draw a deficiency warrant in the authorized amount against the general fund.
28 (2) The death benefit shall be distributed as follows:
29 (a) The total amount of a death benefit to be disbursed to a surviving
30 spouse, with or without dependent children, shall be one hundred thousand
31 dollars ($100,000).
32 (b) In the event there is no surviving spouse, the total amount of the
33 death benefit to be disbursed to the slain deceased public safety
34 officer's surviving dependent children who are under twenty-one (21) years
35 of age at the time of the public safety officer's death is one hundred
36 thousand dollars ($100,000), to be split equally among the surviving natu-
37 ral and adopted children of the slain deceased public safety officer. This
38 disbursement shall be made to each dependent child's legal guardian on
39 behalf of the child.
40 (3) In the event there is neither a surviving spouse, nor surviving
41 dependent children under the age of twenty-one (21) years, the total amount to
42 be disbursed to the surviving parent or parents of the slain deceased public
43 safety officer shall be forty thousand dollars ($40,000), to be split equally
2
1 between the natural or adopted adoptive parents of the slain deceased public
2 safety officer.
3 (4) The death benefit provided in this section shall not be subject to
4 state income taxes, and shall not affect, nor be affected by, any death bene-
5 fit payments as may be provided under chapter 13, title 59, Idaho Code.
AMENDED
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 11495C1
This measure adds firefighters, emergency medical technicians
(EMT) and paramedics who are employed or volunteering for the state
or a political subdivision of the state, and are residents to the
list of persons whose families would be eligible for the death
benefit if they were killed in the line of duty.
FISCAL IMPACT
The fiscal impact would be determined by the number of dependents
of public safety officers killed in the line of duty. Total fiscal
cost to date has been $140,000 paid to two (2) dependents of officers
slain in Jerome County. Current statistical data reveals that a
total of eight (8) public safety officers have been killed in the
last twenty (10) years, two of which were firefighters.
Contact:
Name: Sen. Clint Stennett
Phone: 208/332-1351, Sen. Cecil Ingram
208/332-1332
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE Bill No.1310
REVISED REVISED REVISED