HB 1475-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2565
\t05/04
HOUSE BILL\t1475-FN-A
AN ACT\testablishing a death benefit for a school employee killed in the line of duty.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Rogers, Merr. 28; Rep. Berch, Ches. 1; Rep. Lachance, Hills. 8
COMMITTEE:\tFinance
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill establishes a death benefit for a school employee killed in the line of duty.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2565
\t05/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\testablishing a death benefit for a school employee killed in the line of duty.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 New Chapter; Death Benefit for School Employee Killed in Line of Duty. Amend RSA by inserting after chapter 189 the following new chapter:
CHAPTER 189-A
Death Benefit for School Employee Killed in Line of Duty
\t189-A:1 Death Benefit for School Employee Killed in Line of Duty.
\t\tI. In this section:
\t\t\t(a) “Family” means the surviving spouse of the school employee who was wholly or partially dependent, in fact, upon the earnings of the school employee; or, if there is no surviving spouse, the surviving dependent child or dependent children, of such school employee or, if there is no surviving dependent child, a surviving person qualifying as a common-law spouse pursuant to RSA 457:39, or if there is no surviving common-law spouse, the surviving adult child or adult children, or if there is no surviving adult child or adult children, the surviving parent or parents of such school employee. A surviving dependent child shall include a dependent step-child whose expenses of daily living were substantially paid for by the decedent at the time of the death.
\t\t\t(b) “School employee” means any person, full or part time, who works in a public school in the state of New Hampshire.
\t\t\t(c) “Public school” means any public school or public academy approved by the state of New Hampshire pursuant to state laws and regulations, including the university system of New Hampshire and the community college system of New Hampshire.
\t\t\t(d) “Killed in the line of duty” means the death of a school employee while in the performance of his or her duties as a result of incident, accident, or violence causing death or injuries which are the direct or proximate cause of death. “Incident” shall include any death that is determined to be occupationally related by the worker’s compensation insurance carrier, a self-insured worker’s compensation plan, or by the labor commissioner for workers’ compensation purposes pursuant to RSA 281-A.
\t\tII. In addition to any other benefits provided under this chapter, the state treasurer shall pay a $100,000 death benefit to the family of a school employee killed in the line of duty. Payment to a dependent child shall be made to the child’s trustee for the benefit of the child. The governor, with the consent of the executive council, is authorized to draw a warrant for said sum out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
\t\tIII. The commissioner of education, upon notice from the family or school superintendent of any school employee who may be entitled to a line-of-duty death benefit or upon the commissioner’s own initiative, shall obtain the available records related to the circumstances, cause, and manner of such death and the decedent’s status as a school employee, may cause further inquiry to be made, and shall make a determination of whether the death qualifies as a line-of-duty death and who is entitled to the death benefit. The determination shall be made within 30 days of the determination of the cause and manner of death by the office of the chief medical examiner, or within 30 days from the date the commissioner received notice from the family or school superintendent of the school employee, whichever is later. For deaths that are not reviewed by the office of the chief medical examiner, the determination shall be made within 30 days of a determination that the decedent qualifies for a workers’ compensation death benefit by a worker’s compensation carrier, self-insured worker’s compensation plan, or the labor commissioner pursuant to RSA 281-A, or within 30 days from the date the commissioner received notice from the family or school superintendent of the school employee, whichever is later.
\t\t\t(a) Solely for the purposes of making this determination and notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the commissioner of education may obtain any records held by any state or municipal official regarding the circumstances, cause, or manner of the death and who is entitled to the death benefit.
\t\t\t(b) The commissioner of education may consult with the office of the chief medical examiner and the labor commissioner, and may disclose to either any information or records obtained in the course of his or her inquiry.
\t\t\t(c) Any records held by the commissioner of education pursuant to this section shall not be subject to the right-to-know law, RSA 91-A and shall not be subject to disclosure in any civil action. Upon request of the decedent’s family any medical records or other records which otherwise are non-public may be destroyed following the vote by the governor and executive council to authorize payment of a line-of-duty death benefit or, in the case of a denial, following the expiration of the appeal period.
\t\t\t(d) If the commissioner of education determines that the death is not a qualified line-of-duty death, he or she shall cause the decedent’s family to be notified. The family may appeal the determination within 180 days of the date of the notification by notifying the commissioner of education in writing. In the event of an appeal, the attorney general shall appoint an appeal hearing panel consisting of one medical doctor, one member appointed by the commissioner of education, one member appointed by the professional association that the decedent belonged to, and 2 citizens who are not associated with the education profession, at least one of whom is a attorney admitted to practice in New Hampshire. Where no professional association exists for the profession for which the decedent worked, the attorney general shall select the panel member from among the management or members of the profession for which the decedent worked as is necessary to fill either the professional association management or member position on the panel. The commissioner of education shall forward to the appeal panel all the information that he or she considered in reaching the determination. Upon request of the family, the appeal hearing shall be exempt from the right-to-know law, RSA 91-A. Hearings shall be conducted in conformance with RSA 541-A and the department of justice Jus 800 administrative procedural rules. The appeal hearing panel shall review the evidence de novo, may receive additional evidence from the family or others, and shall determine by a preponderance of the evidence whether the decedent’s death was a qualified line-of-duty death.
\t\t\t(e) If the commissioner of education or the appeal hearing panel determines by a preponderance of the evidence that the death is a qualified line-of-duty death, the commissioner shall submit a request to the governor seeking approval of payment of the benefit.
\t\tIV. Neither the state nor its agencies or employees shall be civilly liable for any improper payment of the line-of-duty death benefit as provided in this section.
\t2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2017.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2565
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t11/12/15
HB 1475-FN-A- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\testablishing a death benefit for a school employee killed in the line of duty.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant states this bill, as introduced, may increase state general fund expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There will be no impact on state, county, and local revenues or county and local expenditures.
This bill authorizes the Governor, with the consent of the Executive Council, to draw a warrant from funds not otherwise appropriated.
METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes a $100,000 death benefit for the family of a school employee killed in the line of duty, from state general funds not otherwise appropriated, and therefore may result in an increase to state general fund expenditures in FY 2017 and each year thereafter.