H. B. 4461
(By Delegates Wysong, Tabb, Hartman, Proudfoot,
Doyle, Spencer, Moore, DeLong,
Hatfield, White and Michael)
[Introduced February 7, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §15-2-33 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to dependents of state police who
die in the line of duty.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §15-2-33 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE.
§15-2-33. Awards and benefits to dependents of member when the
member dies in performance of duty; to dependents of
a duty disability retirant; dependent child
scholarship and amount.
(a) The surviving spouse or the dependent child or children or
dependent parent or parents of any member who has lost or loses his
or her life by reason of injury, illness or disease resulting from
an occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the
service required of employees while the member was or is engaged in the performance of his or her duties as an employee of the agency,
or if a retirant dies from any cause after having been retired
pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-nine of this article,
the surviving spouse or other dependent is entitled to receive and
shall be paid from the fund benefits as follows: To the surviving
spouse annually, in equal monthly installments during his or her
lifetime the greater of one or the other of two amounts:
(1) An amount equal to five and one-half percent of the total
salary which was or would have been earned by the deceased member
or duty disability retirant during twenty-five years of service
based on the average earnings of the member or duty disability
retirant while employed by the agency; or
(2) The sum of six thousand dollars.
(b) In addition, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive
and shall be paid one hundred dollars monthly for each dependent
child or children. If the surviving spouse dies or if there is no
surviving spouse, there shall be paid monthly to each dependent
child or children from the fund a sum equal to twenty-five percent
of the surviving spouse's entitlement. If there is no surviving
spouse and no dependent child or children, there shall be paid
annually in equal monthly installments from the fund to the
dependent parents of the deceased member or retirant during their
joint lifetimes a sum equal to the amount which a surviving spouse,
without children, would have received:
Provided, That when there is one dependent parent surviving, that parent is entitled to
receive during his or her lifetime one-half the amount which both
parents, if living, would have been entitled to receive.
(c) Any person qualified as a surviving dependent child under
this section, in addition to any other benefits due under this or
other sections of this article, is entitled to receive a
scholarship to be applied to the career development education of
that person. This sum up to but not exceeding seven thousand five
hundred dollars shall be paid from the fund to any university or
college in this state or to any trade or vocational school or other
entity in this state approved by the board, to offset the expenses
of tuition, room and board, books, fees or other costs incurred in
a course of study at any of those institutions so long as the
recipient makes application to the board on an approved form and
under rules as provided by the board and maintains scholastic
eligibility as defined by the institution or the board. The board
may by appropriate rules define age requirements, physical and
mental requirements, scholastic eligibility, disbursement methods,
institutional qualifications and other requirements as necessary
and not inconsistent with this section.
(d) A surviving spouse or dependent of an employee meeting the
requirements of this section is entitled to receive beneficiary
payments on the first day following the date the deceased employee
is removed from payroll by the agency. A surviving spouse or dependent of a member who is not currently an employee meeting the
requirements of this section is entitled to receive beneficiary
payments on the first day following the date of the deceased
member's death. A surviving spouse or dependent of a retirant
meeting the requirements of this section is entitled to receive
beneficiary payments on the first day of the month following the
date of the deceased retirant's death. Upon receipt of properly
executed forms from the agency and the surviving spouse or
dependent, the board shall process the surviving spouse or
dependent benefit as soon as administratively feasible.
(e) For the purposes of this section, the term "salary" does
not include any compensation paid for overtime service.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, the
surviving dependents of a State Police Officer killed in the line
of duty, shall be covered by the Public Employees Insurance Agency
until they reach the age of eighteen, or if in school, until the
age of twenty-five. This coverage shall remain in effect
irregardless if the surviving spouse remarries, and the surviving
spouse shall remain eligible for single coverage until they remarry
paying the single coverage premium they currently pay.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide health insurance
under PEIA for surviving dependents of State Police Officers killed
in the line of duty.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.