Senate Bill sb0108c1

    Florida Senate - 2002                            CS for SB 108

    By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Smith





    311-369-02

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to workers' compensation;

  3         amending s. 440.091, F.S.; specifying

  4         circumstances under which firefighters are

  5         considered to be acting within the scope of

  6         their employment so as to qualify for workers'

  7         compensation benefits; providing a declaration

  8         of important state interest; providing an

  9         effective date.

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11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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13         Section 1.  Section 440.091, Florida Statutes, is

14  amended to read:

15         440.091  Law enforcement officer or firefighter; when

16  acting within the course of employment.--

17         (1)  If an employee:

18         (a)(1)  Is elected, appointed, or employed full time by

19  a municipality, the state, or any political subdivision and is

20  vested with authority to bear arms and make arrests and the

21  employee's primary responsibility is the prevention or

22  detection of crime or the enforcement of the penal, criminal,

23  traffic, or highway laws of the state;

24         (b)(2)  Was discharging that primary responsibility

25  within the state in a place and under circumstances reasonably

26  consistent with that primary responsibility; and

27         (c)(3)  Was not engaged in services for which he or she

28  was paid by a private employer, and the employee and his or

29  her public employer had no agreement providing for workers'

30  compensation coverage for that private employment;

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    Florida Senate - 2002                            CS for SB 108
    311-369-02




  1  the employee is considered shall be deemed to have been acting

  2  within the course of employment.  The term "employee" as used

  3  in this subsection section includes all certified supervisory

  4  and command personnel whose duties include, in whole or in

  5  part, responsibilities for the supervision, training,

  6  guidance, and management of full-time law enforcement

  7  officers, part-time law enforcement officers, or auxiliary law

  8  enforcement officers but does not include support personnel

  9  employed by the employing agency.

10         (2)  If a firefighter as defined by s. 112.191(1)(b) is

11  engaged in extinguishing a fire, or protecting and saving life

12  or property due to a fire in this state in an emergency, and

13  such activities would be considered to be within the course of

14  his or her employment as a firefighter and covered by the

15  employer's workers' compensation coverage except for the fact

16  that the firefighter was off duty or that the location of the

17  fire was outside the employer's jurisdiction or area of

18  responsibility, such activities are considered to be within

19  the course of employment. This subsection does not apply if

20  the firefighter is performing activities for which he or she

21  is paid by another employer or contractor.

22         Section 2.  It is declared by the Legislature that

23  firefighters perform state and municipal functions, that it is

24  their duty to protect life and property at their own risk and

25  peril, and that their activities are vital to the public

26  safety. Therefore, the Legislature declares that it fulfills

27  an important state interest to provide workers' compensation

28  coverage to firefighters while engaged in extinguishing a

29  fire, or protecting and saving life or property due to a fire

30  in this state while off duty or engaging in such activities at

31  a fire located outside the employer's jurisdiction or area of

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    Florida Senate - 2002                            CS for SB 108
    311-369-02




  1  responsibility. Pursuant to Section 18, Article VII of the

  2  State Constitution, the Legislature determines and declares

  3  that the provisions of this act fulfill an important state

  4  interest.

  5         Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2002.

  6

  7          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
  8                         Senate Bill 108

  9

10  The committee substitute revises the definition of the term
    "firefighter," to include a noncertified firefighter, thereby
11  increasing the total number of firefighters which would be
    covered by workers' compensation in the event a firefighter
12  was engaged in firefighting within Florida, but outside of the
    employer's jurisdiction or off-duty, and not engaged in
13  services by a private employer.

14  The committee substitute also provides that the bill fulfills
    an important state interest.
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.