House Bill hb0253

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2002                 HB 253

        By Representative Gibson






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to educational benefits for

  3         children of slain law enforcement officers and

  4         firefighters; amending ss. 112.19, 112.191,

  5         F.S.; providing for graduate or

  6         postbaccalaureate educational expenses to be

  7         waived for children of officers or firefighters

  8         killed in the line of duty; providing for the

  9         waiver to apply to a state resident who attends

10         a state institution as a full-time or part-time

11         student until a specified age; providing an

12         effective date.

13

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

15

16         Section 1.  Section 112.19, Florida Statutes, is

17  amended to read:

18         112.19  Law enforcement, correctional, and correctional

19  probation officers; death benefits.--

20         (1)  Whenever used in this section, the term:

21         (a)  "Employer" means a state board, commission,

22  department, division, bureau, or agency, or a county,

23  municipality, or other political subdivision of the state,

24  which employs, appoints, or otherwise engages the services of

25  law enforcement, correctional, or correctional probation

26  officers.

27         (b)  "Law enforcement, correctional, or correctional

28  probation officer" means any officer as defined in s.

29  943.10(14) or employee of the state or any political

30  subdivision of the state, including any law enforcement

31  officer, correctional officer, correctional probation officer,

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  1  state attorney investigator, or public defender investigator,

  2  whose duties require such officer or employee to investigate,

  3  pursue, apprehend, arrest, transport, or maintain custody of

  4  persons who are charged with, suspected of committing, or

  5  convicted of a crime; and the term includes any member of a

  6  bomb disposal unit whose primary responsibility is the

  7  location, handling, and disposal of explosive devices.  The

  8  term also includes any full-time officer or employee of the

  9  state or any political subdivision of the state, certified

10  pursuant to chapter 943, whose duties require such officer to

11  serve process or to attend terms of circuit or county court as

12  bailiff.

13         (c)  "Insurance" means insurance procured from a stock

14  company or mutual company or association or exchange

15  authorized to do business as an insurer in this state.

16         (d)  "Fresh pursuit" means the pursuit of a person who

17  has committed or is reasonably suspected of having committed a

18  felony, misdemeanor, traffic infraction, or violation of a

19  county or municipal ordinance.  The term does not imply

20  instant pursuit, but pursuit without unreasonable delay.

21         (2)(a)  The sum of $25,000 shall be paid as provided in

22  this section when a law enforcement, correctional, or

23  correctional probation officer, while engaged in the

24  performance of the officer's law enforcement duties, is

25  accidentally killed or receives accidental bodily injury which

26  results in the loss of the officer's life, provided that such

27  killing is not the result of suicide and that such bodily

28  injury is not intentionally self-inflicted.

29         (b)  The sum of $25,000 shall be paid as provided in

30  this section if a law enforcement, correctional, or

31  correctional probation officer is accidentally killed as

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  1  specified in paragraph (a) and the accidental death occurs as

  2  a result of the officer's response to fresh pursuit or to the

  3  officer's response to what is reasonably believed to be an

  4  emergency.  This sum is in addition to any sum provided for in

  5  paragraph (a).

  6         (c)  If a law enforcement, correctional, or

  7  correctional probation officer, while engaged in the

  8  performance of the officer's law enforcement duties, is

  9  unlawfully and intentionally killed or dies as a result of

10  such unlawful and intentional act, the sum of $75,000 shall be

11  paid as provided in this section.

12         (d)  Such payments, pursuant to the provisions of

13  paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), whether secured by insurance or

14  not, shall be made to the beneficiary designated by such law

15  enforcement, correctional, or correctional probation officer

16  in writing, signed by the officer and delivered to the

17  employer during the officer's lifetime.  If no such

18  designation is made, then it shall be paid to the officer's

19  surviving child or children and spouse in equal portions, and

20  if there is no surviving child or spouse, then to the

21  officer's parent or parents.  If a beneficiary is not

22  designated and there is no surviving child, spouse, or parent,

23  then it shall be paid to the officer's estate.

24         (e)  Such payments, pursuant to the provisions of

25  paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), are in addition to any workers'

26  compensation or pension benefits and are exempt from the

27  claims and demands of creditors of such law enforcement,

28  correctional, or correctional probation officer.

29         (f)  If a full-time law enforcement, correctional, or

30  correctional probation officer who is employed by a state

31  agency is killed in the line of duty as a result of an act of

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  1  violence inflicted by another person while the officer is

  2  engaged in the performance of law enforcement duties or as a

  3  result of an assault against the officer under riot

  4  conditions, the sum of $1,000 shall be paid, as provided for

  5  in paragraph (d), toward the funeral and burial expenses of

  6  such officer.  Such benefits are in addition to any other

  7  benefits which employee beneficiaries and dependents are

  8  entitled to under the provisions of the Workers' Compensation

  9  Law or any other state or federal statutes.

10         (g)  Any political subdivision of the state that

11  employs a full-time law enforcement officer as defined in s.

12  943.10(1) or a full-time correctional officer as defined in s.

13  943.10(2) who is killed in the line of duty on or after July

14  1, 1993, as a result of an act of violence inflicted by

15  another person while the officer is engaged in the performance

16  of law enforcement duties or as a result of an assault against

17  the officer under riot conditions shall pay the entire premium

18  of the political subdivision's health insurance plan for the

19  employee's surviving spouse until remarried, and for each

20  dependent child of the employee until the child reaches the

21  age of majority or until the end of the calendar year in which

22  the child reaches the age of 25 if:

23         1.  At the time of the employee's death, the child is

24  dependent upon the employee for support; and

25         2.  The surviving child continues to be dependent for

26  support, or the surviving child is a full-time or part-time

27  student and is dependent for support.

28         (h)1.  Any employer who employs a full-time law

29  enforcement, correctional, or correctional probation officer

30  who, on or after January 1, 1995, suffers a catastrophic

31  injury, as defined in s. 440.02(37), in the line of duty shall

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  1  pay the entire premium of the employer's health insurance plan

  2  for the injured employee, the injured employee's spouse, and

  3  for each dependent child of the injured employee until the

  4  child reaches the age of majority or until the end of the

  5  calendar year in which the child reaches the age of 25 if the

  6  child continues to be dependent for support, or the child is a

  7  full-time or part-time student and is dependent for support.

  8  The term "health insurance plan" does not include supplemental

  9  benefits that are not part of the basic group health insurance

10  plan.  If the injured employee subsequently dies, the employer

11  shall continue to pay the entire health insurance premium for

12  the surviving spouse until remarried, and for the dependent

13  children, under the conditions outlined in this paragraph.

14  However:

15         a.  Health insurance benefits payable from any other

16  source shall reduce benefits payable under this section.

17         b.  It is unlawful for a person to willfully and

18  knowingly make, or cause to be made, or to assist, conspire

19  with, or urge another to make, or cause to be made, any false,

20  fraudulent, or misleading oral or written statement to obtain

21  health insurance coverage as provided under this paragraph.  A

22  person who violates this sub-subparagraph commits a

23  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.

24  775.082 or s. 775.083.

25         c.  In addition to any applicable criminal penalty,

26  upon conviction for a violation as described in

27  sub-subparagraph b., a law enforcement, correctional, or

28  correctional probation officer or other beneficiary who

29  receives or seeks to receive health insurance benefits under

30  this paragraph shall forfeit the right to receive such health

31  insurance benefits, and shall reimburse the employer for all

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  1  benefits paid due to the fraud or other prohibited activity.

  2  For purposes of this sub-subparagraph, "conviction" means a

  3  determination of guilt that is the result of a plea or trial,

  4  regardless of whether adjudication is withheld.

  5         2.  In order for the officer, spouse, and dependent

  6  children to be eligible for such insurance coverage, the

  7  injury must have occurred as the result of the officer's

  8  response to fresh pursuit, the officer's response to what is

  9  reasonably believed to be an emergency, or an unlawful act

10  perpetrated by another.  Except as otherwise provided herein,

11  nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to limit health

12  insurance coverage for which the officer, spouse, or dependent

13  children may otherwise be eligible, except that a person who

14  qualifies under this section shall not be eligible for the

15  health insurance subsidy provided under chapter 121, chapter

16  175, or chapter 185.

17         (i)  The Bureau of Crime Prevention and Training within

18  the Department of Legal Affairs shall adopt rules necessary to

19  implement paragraphs (a), (b), and (c).

20         (3)  If a law enforcement, correctional, or

21  correctional probation officer is accidentally killed as

22  specified in paragraph (2)(b) on or after June 22, 1990, or

23  unlawfully and intentionally killed as specified in paragraph

24  (2)(c) on or after July 1, 1980, the state shall waive certain

25  educational expenses that which children of the deceased

26  officer incur while obtaining a vocational-technical

27  certificate, or an undergraduate education, or a graduate or

28  postbaccalaureate professional degree. The amount waived by

29  the state shall be an amount equal to the cost of tuition, and

30  matriculation, and other statutorily authorized registration

31  fees for a total of 120 credit hours for a

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  1  vocational-technical certificate or an undergraduate

  2  education. For a child pursuing a graduate or

  3  postbaccalaureate professional degree, the amount waived shall

  4  equal the cost of tuition, matriculation, and other

  5  statutorily authorized fees incurred while the child continues

  6  to fulfill the professional requirements associated with the

  7  graduate or postbaccalaureate professional degree program, and

  8  eligibility continues until the child's 29th birthday. The

  9  child may attend a state vocational-technical school, a state

10  community college, or a state university.  The child may

11  attend any or all of the institutions specified in this

12  subsection, on either a full-time or part-time basis. For a

13  child pursuing a vocational-technical certificate or an

14  undergraduate education, the benefits provided under this

15  subsection shall continue to the child until the child's 25th

16  birthday. To be eligible for the benefits provided under this

17  subsection for enrollment in a postbaccalaureate or

18  professional degree program, the child must be a state

19  resident, as defined in s. 240.1201, at the time of

20  enrollment.

21         (a)  Upon failure of any child benefited by the

22  provisions of this section to comply with the ordinary and

23  minimum requirements of the institution attended, both as to

24  discipline and scholarship, the benefits shall be withdrawn as

25  to the child and no further moneys may be expended for the

26  child's benefits so long as such failure or delinquency

27  continues.

28         (b)  Only a student in good standing in his or her

29  respective institution may receive the benefits thereof.

30

31

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  1         (c)  A child receiving benefits under this section must

  2  be enrolled according to the customary rules and requirements

  3  of the institution attended.

  4         (4)(a)  The employer of such law enforcement,

  5  correctional, or correctional probation officer is liable for

  6  the payment of the sums specified in this section and is

  7  deemed self-insured, unless it procures and maintains, or has

  8  already procured and maintained, insurance to secure such

  9  payments. Any such insurance may cover only the risks

10  indicated in this section, in the amounts indicated in this

11  section, or it may cover those risks and additional risks and

12  may be in larger amounts.  Any such insurance shall be placed

13  by such employer only after public bid of such insurance

14  coverage which coverage shall be awarded to the carrier making

15  the lowest best bid.

16         (b)  Payment of benefits to beneficiaries of state

17  employees, or of the premiums to cover the risk, under the

18  provisions of this section shall be paid from existing funds

19  otherwise appropriated to the department employing the law

20  enforcement, correctional, or correctional probation officers.

21         (5)  The Department of Education shall adopt rules and

22  procedures as are necessary to implement the educational

23  benefits provisions of this section.

24         (6)  Notwithstanding any provision of this section to

25  the contrary, the death benefits provided in paragraphs (2)(c)

26  and (g) shall also be applicable and paid in cases where an

27  officer received bodily injury prior to July 1, 1993, and

28  subsequently died on or after July 1, 1993, as a result of

29  such in-line-of-duty injury attributable to an unlawful and

30  intentional act, or an act of violence inflicted by another,

31  or an assault on the officer under riot conditions.  Payment

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  1  of such benefits shall be in accordance with provisions of

  2  this section.  Nothing in this provision shall be construed to

  3  limit death benefits for which those individuals listed in

  4  paragraph (2)(d) may otherwise be eligible.

  5         Section 2.  Section 112.191, Florida Statutes, is

  6  amended to read:

  7         112.191  Firefighters; death benefits.--

  8         (1)  Whenever used in this act:

  9         (a)  The term "employer" means a state board,

10  commission, department, division, bureau or agency, or a

11  county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the

12  state.

13         (b)  The term "firefighter" means any full-time duly

14  employed uniformed firefighter employed by an employer, whose

15  primary duty is the prevention and extinguishing of fires, the

16  protection of life and property therefrom, the enforcement of

17  municipal, county, and state fire prevention codes, as well as

18  the enforcement of any law pertaining to the prevention and

19  control of fires, who is certified pursuant to s. 633.35, and

20  who is a member of a duly constituted fire department of such

21  employer or who is a volunteer firefighter.

22         (c)  The term "insurance" means insurance procured from

23  a stock company or mutual company or association or exchange

24  authorized to do business as an insurer in this state.

25         (2)(a)  The sum of $25,000 shall be paid as hereinafter

26  provided when a firefighter, while engaged in the performance

27  of his or her firefighter duties, is accidentally killed or

28  receives accidental bodily injury which subsequently results

29  in the loss of the firefighter's life, provided that such

30  killing is not the result of suicide and that such bodily

31  injury is not intentionally self-inflicted.

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  1         (b)  The sum of $25,000 shall be paid as hereinafter

  2  provided if a firefighter is accidentally killed as specified

  3  in paragraph (a) and the accidental death occurs as a result

  4  of the firefighter's response to what is reasonably believed

  5  to be an emergency involving the protection of life or

  6  property.  This sum shall be in addition to any sum provided

  7  for in paragraph (a).

  8         (c)  If a firefighter, while engaged in the performance

  9  of his or her firefighter duties, is unlawfully and

10  intentionally killed, dies as a result of a fire which has

11  been determined to have been caused by an act of arson, or

12  subsequently dies as a result of injuries sustained therefrom,

13  the sum of $75,000 shall be paid as hereinafter provided.

14         (d)  Such payments, pursuant to paragraphs (a), (b),

15  and (c), whether secured by insurance or not, shall be made to

16  the beneficiary designated by such firefighter in writing,

17  signed by the firefighter and delivered to the employer during

18  the firefighter's lifetime.  If no such designation is made,

19  then it shall be paid to the firefighter's surviving child or

20  children and spouse in equal portions, and if there be no

21  surviving child or spouse, then to the firefighter's parent or

22  parents.  If a beneficiary designation is not made and there

23  is no surviving child, spouse, or parent, then it shall be

24  paid to the firefighter's estate.

25         (e)  Such payments, pursuant to the provisions of

26  paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), shall be in addition to any

27  workers' compensation or pension benefits and shall be exempt

28  from the claims and demands of creditors of such firefighter.

29         (f)  Any political subdivision of the state that

30  employs a full-time firefighter who is killed in the line of

31  duty on or after July 1, 1993, as a result of an act of

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  1  violence inflicted by another person while the firefighter is

  2  engaged in the performance of firefighter duties, as a result

  3  of a fire which has been determined to have been caused by an

  4  act of arson, or as a result of an assault against the

  5  firefighter under riot conditions shall pay the entire premium

  6  of the political subdivision's health insurance plan for the

  7  employee's surviving spouse until remarried, and for each

  8  dependent child of the employee until the child reaches the

  9  age of majority or until the end of the calendar year in which

10  the child reaches the age of 25 if:

11         1.  At the time of the employee's death, the child is

12  dependent upon the employee for support; and

13         2.  The surviving child continues to be dependent for

14  support, or the surviving child is a full-time or part-time

15  student and is dependent for support.

16         (g)1.  Any employer who employs a full-time firefighter

17  who, on or after January 1, 1995, suffers a catastrophic

18  injury, as defined in s. 440.02(37), in the line of duty shall

19  pay the entire premium of the employer's health insurance plan

20  for the injured employee, the injured employee's spouse, and

21  for each dependent child of the injured employee until the

22  child reaches the age of majority or until the end of the

23  calendar year in which the child reaches the age of 25 if the

24  child continues to be dependent for support, or the child is a

25  full-time or part-time student and is dependent for support.

26  The term "health insurance plan" does not include supplemental

27  benefits that are not part of the basic group health insurance

28  plan.  If the injured employee subsequently dies, the employer

29  shall continue to pay the entire health insurance premium for

30  the surviving spouse until remarried, and for the dependent

31

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  1  children, under the conditions outlined in this paragraph.

  2  However:

  3         a.  Health insurance benefits payable from any other

  4  source shall reduce benefits payable under this section.

  5         b.  It is unlawful for a person to willfully and

  6  knowingly make, or cause to be made, or to assist, conspire

  7  with, or urge another to make, or cause to be made, any false,

  8  fraudulent, or misleading oral or written statement to obtain

  9  health insurance coverage as provided under this paragraph.  A

10  person who violates this sub-subparagraph commits a

11  misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s.

12  775.082 or s. 775.083.

13         c.  In addition to any applicable criminal penalty,

14  upon conviction for a violation as described in

15  sub-subparagraph b., a firefighter or other beneficiary who

16  receives or seeks to receive health insurance benefits under

17  this paragraph shall forfeit the right to receive such health

18  insurance benefits, and shall reimburse the employer for all

19  benefits paid due to the fraud or other prohibited activity.

20  For purposes of this sub-subparagraph, "conviction" means a

21  determination of guilt that is the result of a plea or trial,

22  regardless of whether adjudication is withheld.

23         2.  In order for the firefighter, spouse, and dependent

24  children to be eligible for such insurance coverage, the

25  injury must have occurred as the result of the firefighter's

26  response to what is reasonably believed to be an emergency

27  involving the protection of life or property, or an unlawful

28  act perpetrated by another.  Except as otherwise provided

29  herein, nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to limit

30  health insurance coverage for which the firefighter, spouse,

31  or dependent children may otherwise be eligible, except that a

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  1  person who qualifies for benefits under this section shall not

  2  be eligible for the health insurance subsidy provided under

  3  chapter 121, chapter 175, or chapter 185.

  4

  5  Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary,

  6  the death benefits provided in paragraphs (b), (c), and (f)

  7  shall also be applicable and paid in cases where a firefighter

  8  received bodily injury prior to July 1, 1993, and subsequently

  9  died on or after July 1, 1993, as a result of such

10  in-line-of-duty injury.

11         (h)  The Division of the State Fire Marshal within the

12  Department of Insurance is directed to promulgate rules as are

13  necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

14         (3)  If a firefighter is accidentally killed as

15  specified in paragraph (2)(b) on or after June 22, 1990, or

16  unlawfully and intentionally killed as specified in paragraph

17  (2)(c), on or after July 1, 1980, the state shall waive

18  certain educational expenses that which children of the

19  deceased firefighter incur while obtaining a

20  vocational-technical certificate, or an undergraduate

21  education, or a graduate or postbaccalaureate professional

22  degree. The amount waived by the state shall be an amount

23  equal to the cost of tuition, and matriculation, and other

24  statutorily authorized registration fees for a total of 120

25  credit hours for a vocational-technical certificate or an

26  undergraduate education. For a child pursuing a graduate or

27  postbaccalaureate professional degree, the amount waived shall

28  equal the cost of tuition, matriculation, and other

29  statutorily authorized fees incurred while the child continues

30  to fulfill the professional requirements associated with the

31  graduate or postbaccalaureate professional degree program, and

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  1  eligibility continues until the child's 29th birthday. The

  2  child may attend a state vocational-technical school, a state

  3  community college, or a state university.  The child may

  4  attend any or all of the institutions specified in this

  5  subsection, on either a full-time or part-time basis. For a

  6  child pursuing a vocational-technical certificate or an

  7  undergraduate education, the benefits provided under this

  8  subsection shall continue to such a child until the child's

  9  25th birthday. To be eligible for the benefits provided under

10  this subsection for enrollment in a postbaccalaureate or

11  professional degree program, the child must be a state

12  resident, as defined in s. 240.1201, at the time of

13  enrollment.

14         (a)  Upon failure of any child benefited by the

15  provisions of this section to comply with the ordinary and

16  minimum requirements of the institution attended, both as to

17  discipline and scholarship, the benefits thereof shall be

18  withdrawn as to the child and no further moneys expended for

19  the child's benefits so long as such failure or delinquency

20  continues.

21         (b)  Only students in good standing in their respective

22  institutions shall receive the benefits thereof.

23         (c)  All children receiving benefits under this section

24  shall be enrolled according to the customary rules and

25  requirements of the institution attended.

26         (4)(a)  The employer of such firefighter shall be

27  liable for the payment of said sums specified in this section

28  and shall be deemed self-insured, unless it procures and

29  maintains, or has already procured and maintained, insurance

30  to secure such payments. Any such insurance may cover only the

31  risks indicated in this section, in the amounts indicated in

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  1  this section, or it may cover those risks and additional risks

  2  and may be in larger amounts.  Any such insurance shall be

  3  placed by such employer only after public bid of such

  4  insurance coverage which coverage shall be awarded to the

  5  carrier making the lowest best bid.

  6         (b)  Payment of benefits to beneficiaries of state

  7  employees, or of the premiums to cover the risk, under the

  8  provisions of this section, shall be paid from existing funds

  9  otherwise appropriated for the department.

10         (5)  The Department of Education shall adopt is

11  directed to promulgate rules and procedures as are necessary

12  to implement the educational benefits provisions of this

13  section.

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

15

16            *****************************************

17                          SENATE SUMMARY

18    Provides for graduate-level fees and tuition to be waived
      for children of law enforcement officers or firefighters
19    who are killed in the line of duty. Requires that the
      child be a state resident at the time of enrollment.
20    Provides for the waiver to apply to expenses incurred at
      a state institution by a part-time or full-time student.
21    Provides for eligibility to continue until the child's
      29th birthday.
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