H. B. 2801
(By Delegates Moye, Mahan, Kessler and Sumner)
[Introduced
February 1, 2007
; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new chapter, designated §5H-1-1 and §5H-1-2,
all relating to providing a death benefit to the families of
firefighters and EMS personnel who are killed as a result of
an injury arising out of and in the course of performance of
official duties or arising out of any activity on or off duty
in the capacity of a firefighter or EMS provider.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new chapter, designated §5H-1-1 and §5H-1-2,
all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5H. SURVIVOR BENEFITS.
ARTICLE 1. WEST VIRGINIA FIRE AND EMS SURVIVOR BENEFIT ACT.
§5H-1-1. Title and legislative intent.
(a) This article is known as the "West Virginia Fire and EMS
Survivor Benefit Act."
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for the
payment of death benefits to the surviving spouse, designated beneficiary, children or parents of firefighters and EMS personnel
killed in the performance of their duties.
§5H-1-2. Death benefit for survivors.
(a)In the event a firefighter or EMS provider is killed in
the performance of his or her duties, the department chief, within
thirty days from the date of death shall submit certification of
the death to the state.
(b) This act includes both paid and volunteer fire and EMS
personnel acting in the performance of his or her duties of any
fire or EMS department certified by the State of West Virginia
.
(c) A firefighter or EMS provider is considered to be acting
in the performance of his or her duties for the purposes of this
act when he or she is participating in any role of a fire or EMS
department function. This includes training, administration
meetings, fire or EMS incidents, service calls, apparatus,
equipment or station maintenance, fundraisers and travel to or from
such functions.
(d) Travel includes riding upon any apparatus which is owned
or used by the fire or EMS department, or any other vehicle going
to or directly returning from a firefighter's home, place of
business or other place where he or she shall have been prior to
participating in a fire or EMS department function or upon the
authorization of the chief of the department or other person in
charge.
(e) Upon receipt of the certification from the department
chief, the state shall, from moneys payable out of the general
fund, pay to the political subdivision the sum of fifty thousand
dollars. Within five days of receipt of this sum from the state, the political subdivision shall pay the sum as a benefit to the
surviving spouse, or designated beneficiary. If there is no
surviving spouse or designated beneficiary, to the minor children
of the firefighter or EMS provider killed in the performance of
duty. When no spouse, designated beneficiary, or minor children
survive, the benefit shall be paid to the parent or parents of the
firefighter or EMS provider.
(f) Any death ruled by a physician to be a result of an injury
sustained during any of the above mentioned performance of fire
department duties will be eligible for this benefit, even if this
death occurs at a later time.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a fifty thousand
dollar death benefit to the families or designated beneficiary of
firefighters and EMS personnel who are killed in the performance of
their duties.
This chapter is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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