GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 544

Short Title:  Law/Firemen/Death Benefit Increase.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives DeVane, Tart; Abernethy, Albertson, Anderson, Beard, Bowman, Dawkins, Flaherty, Fletcher, Gibson, Hardaway, Hasty, S. Hunt, H. Hunter, Hurley, Jones, Justus, Locks, Loflin, Mercer, R. Thompson, and Warren.
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Referred to:  Public Employees.
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March 13, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO INCREASE THE BENEFITS OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS', FIREMEN'S, RESCUE SQUAD WORKERS', AND CIVIL AIR PATROL MEMBERS' DEATH BENEFITS, AND TO EXPAND THE ACT TO INCLUDE DEPUTY AND ASSISTANT COUNTY FIRE MARSHALS, COUNTY AND REGIONAL EMERGENCY SERVICES COORDINATORS, AND COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATORS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 143-166(d) reads as rewritten:
"(	”””””””””
(d1)	The term ‘law enforcement officer' means any law enforcement officer employed full time by the State or any county or municipality, any full-time custodial employee of the Department of Correction, and any full-time institutional and detention employee of the Division of Youth Services, Department of Human Resources.
(d2)	The term ‘fireman' means both ‘eligible fireman' or ‘fireman' as defined in G.S. 118-23 and any full-time, permanent part-time, and temporary employee of the Forest Resources Division, Department of Natural Resources and Community Development, during the time the employee is actively engaged in fire-fighting activities.  The term ‘fireman' also means any full-time employee of the Department of Insurance, during the time the employee is actively engaged in fire-fighting activities, during the time the employee is training fire fighters or rescue squad workers, or during the time the employee is engaged in activities as a member of the State Emergency Response Team, when the team has been activated.  The term ‘fireman' also means any county fire marshal, deputy fire marshal, and assistant fire marshal, when engaged in the performance of county duties.
(d3)	The term ‘rescue squad worker' means a person:
(1)	Who is dedicated to the purpose of alleviating human suffering and assisting anyone who is in difficulty or who is injured or becomes suddenly ill, by providing the proper and efficient care or by providing emergency medical services;
(2)	Who belongs to an organized rescue squad that is eligible for membership in the North Carolina Association of Rescue Squads, Inc.; and
(3)	Who has attended a minimum of 36 hours of training and meetings in the last calendar year.
Each rescue squad belonging to the North Carolina Association of Rescue Squads, Inc., shall file a roster of those members meeting the requirements set forth in subdivisions (1) through (3) of this subsection with the State Auditor on or about January 1 of each year.  This roster shall be certified by the secretary of the association.  The term ‘rescue squad worker' also means a member of an ambulance service certified by the Department of Human Resources pursuant to Article 7 of Chapter 131E of the General Statutes.  The Department of Human Resources shall furnish a list of such ambulance service workers to the State Auditor on or about January 1 of each year.  The term ‘rescue squad worker' also means any regional or county emergency medical service coordinator, when the coordinator is engaged in coordinating emergency medical services pursuant to Article 56 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.  For the purposes of this Article, regional or county emergency medical services coordinators are those individuals who perform the duties described in this subsection, regardless of the  title of their position.  The term ‘rescue squad worker' also means any county emergency management coordinator, when the coordinator is engaged in carrying out the duties prescribed by Chapter 166A of the General Statutes.  For the purposes of this Article, county emergency management coordinators are those individuals who perform the duties described in this subsection, regardless of the title of their position.
(d4)	The term ‘Civil Air Patrol member' means any senior member of the North Carolina Wing-Civil Air Patrol who is at least 18 years of age and who is currently certified pursuant to G.S. 143B-491(a)."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 143-166.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143-166.3. Payments; determination.
(a)	When any law-enforcement officer, fireman, rescue squad worker or senior Civil Air Patrol member shall be killed in the line of duty, the Industrial Commission shall award a death benefit to be paid in the amounts set forth in subsection (b) to the following:
(1)	The spouse of such officer, fireman, rescue squad worker or senior Civil Air Patrol member if there be a surviving spouse; or
(2)	If there be no spouse qualifying under the provisions of this Article, then payments shall be made to any surviving dependent child of such officer, fireman, rescue squad worker or senior Civil Air Patrol member and if there be more than one surviving dependent child, then said payment shall be made to and equally divided among all surviving dependent children; or
(3)	If there be no spouse and no dependent child or children qualifying under the provisions of this Article, then payments shall be made to the surviving dependent parent of such officer, fireman, rescue squad worker or senior Civil Air Patrol member and if there be more than one surviving dependent parent then said payments shall be made to and equally divided between the surviving dependent parents of said officer, fireman, rescue squad worker or senior Civil Air Patrol member.
(b)	Payment shall be made to the person or persons qualifying therefor under subsection (a) in the following amounts:
(1)	At the time of the death of an officer, fireman, rescue squad worker or senior Civil Air Patrol member, twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) shall be paid to the person or persons entitled thereto.
(2)	Thereafter, ten thousand dollars ($10,000) shall be paid annually to the person or persons entitled thereto until the sum of the initial payment and each annual payment reaches fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
(3)	In the event there is no person qualifying under subsection (a) of this section, fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) shall be paid to the estate of the deceased officer, fireman, rescue squad worker or senior Civil Air Patrol member at the time of death.
(c)	In the event that any person or persons eligible for payments under subsection (a) of this section shall become ineligible, and other eligible person or persons qualify for said death benefit payments under subsection (a), then they shall receive the remainder of any payments up to the limit of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) in the manner set forth in subsection (b) of this section.
(d)	In the event any person or persons eligible for payments under  subsection (a) of this section shall become ineligible and no other person or persons qualify for payments under that subsection and where the sum of the initial payment of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) and each subsequent annual payment of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) does not total fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), then the difference between the total of the payments made and fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) shall immediately be payable to the estate of the deceased officer, fireman, rescue squad worker, or senior Civil Air Patrol member."
Sec. 3.  G.S. 143-166.7 reads as rewritten:
"§ 143-166.7. Applicability of Article.
The provisions of this Article shall apply and be in full force and effect with respect to any law-enforcement officer, fireman, rescue squad worker or senior Civil Air Patrol member killed in the line of duty on or after May 13, 1975. The provisions of this Article shall apply with respect to full-time, permanent part-time and temporary employees of North Carolina Division of Forest Resources, Department of Natural Resources and Community Development, killed in line of duty on or after July 1, 1975. The provisions of this Article shall apply to county fire marshals, their deputies and assistants, regional and county emergency medical service coordinators, and county emergency management coordinators,  killed in the line of duty on and after July 1, 1988."
Sec. 4.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of State Auditor the sum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for the 1989-90 fiscal year and the sum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) for the 1990-91 fiscal year to implement this act.
Sec. 5.  Sections 1 and 3 of this act are effective upon ratification.  Section 2 shall become effective July 1, 1989, and applies to law enforcement officers, firemen, rescue squad workers, and senior Civil Air Patrol members, killed in the line of duty on or after that date.