Florida Senate - 2025                             CS for SB 1202
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
       and Senator McClain
       
       
       
       
       585-02817-25                                          20251202c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to benefits for firefighters injured
    3         during training exercises; amending s. 112.191, F.S.;
    4         providing that a firefighter and his or her spouse and
    5         dependent children are eligible for certain insurance
    6         coverage if the firefighter is totally and permanently
    7         disabled during an official training exercise;
    8         providing a declaration of an important state
    9         interest; providing an effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Paragraph (g) of subsection (2) of section
   14  112.191, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   15         112.191 Firefighters; death benefits.—
   16         (2)
   17         (g)1. Any employer who employs a full-time firefighter who,
   18  on or after January 1, 1995, suffers a catastrophic injury, as
   19  defined in s. 440.02, Florida Statutes 2002, in the line of duty
   20  shall pay the entire premium of the employer’s health insurance
   21  plan for the injured employee, the injured employee’s spouse,
   22  and for each dependent child of the injured employee until the
   23  child reaches the age of majority or until the end of the
   24  calendar year in which the child reaches the age of 25 if the
   25  child continues to be dependent for support, or the child is a
   26  full-time or part-time student and is dependent for support. The
   27  term “health insurance plan” does not include supplemental
   28  benefits that are not part of the basic group health insurance
   29  plan. If the injured employee subsequently dies, the employer
   30  shall continue to pay the entire health insurance premium for
   31  the surviving spouse until remarried, and for the dependent
   32  children, under the conditions outlined in this paragraph.
   33  However:
   34         a. Health insurance benefits payable from any other source
   35  shall reduce benefits payable under this section.
   36         b. It is unlawful for a person to willfully and knowingly
   37  make, or cause to be made, or to assist, conspire with, or urge
   38  another to make, or cause to be made, any false, fraudulent, or
   39  misleading oral or written statement to obtain health insurance
   40  coverage as provided under this paragraph. A person who violates
   41  this sub-subparagraph commits a misdemeanor of the first degree,
   42  punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   43         c. In addition to any applicable criminal penalty, upon
   44  conviction for a violation as described in sub-subparagraph b.,
   45  a firefighter or other beneficiary who receives or seeks to
   46  receive health insurance benefits under this paragraph shall
   47  forfeit the right to receive such health insurance benefits, and
   48  shall reimburse the employer for all benefits paid due to the
   49  fraud or other prohibited activity. For purposes of this sub
   50  subparagraph, the term “conviction” means a determination of
   51  guilt that is the result of a plea or trial, regardless of
   52  whether adjudication is withheld.
   53         2. In order for the firefighter, spouse, and dependent
   54  children to be eligible for such insurance coverage, the injury
   55  must have occurred as the result of the firefighter’s response
   56  to what is reasonably believed to be an emergency involving the
   57  protection of life or property, or an unlawful act perpetrated
   58  by another, or the injury must have occurred during an official
   59  training exercise in which the firefighter became totally and
   60  permanently disabled. Except as otherwise provided herein, this
   61  paragraph may not be construed to limit health insurance
   62  coverage for which the firefighter, spouse, or dependent
   63  children may otherwise be eligible, except that a person who
   64  qualifies for benefits under this section is not eligible for
   65  the health insurance subsidy provided under chapter 121, chapter
   66  175, or chapter 185.
   67  
   68  Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary,
   69  the death benefits provided in paragraphs (b), (c), and (f)
   70  shall also be applicable and paid in cases where a firefighter
   71  received bodily injury prior to July 1, 1993, and subsequently
   72  died on or after July 1, 1993, as a result of such in-line-of
   73  duty injury.
   74         Section 2. The Legislature determines and declares that
   75  this act fulfills an important state interest.
   76         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.