Revision: Dec. 18, 2015, midnight
\t \t\tSB 319-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2734
\t09/01
SENATE BILL\t319-FN
AN ACT\trelative to survivor benefits for families of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
SPONSORS:\tSen. D'Allesandro, Dist 20; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21; Sen. Hosmer, Dist 7; Sen. Kelly, Dist 10; Sen. Soucy, Dist 18; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Rep. Danielson, Hills. 7
COMMITTEE:\tExecutive Departments And Administration
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill adds definitions of "adult child" and "child" for purposes of determining survivor benefits for families of police officers and firefighters 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\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2734
\t09/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\trelative to survivor benefits for families of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 Survivor Benefits. Amend RSA 21-I:29-a, I to read as follows:
\t\tI. In this section:
\t\t\t(a) "Adult child" means a child or stepchild, whether by blood or adoption, of the police officer or firefighter, age 27 or older at the time of death of such police officer or firefighter.
\t\t\t(b) "Child" means a child or stepchild, whether by blood or adoption, of the police officer or firefighter, under the age of 27 at the time of death of such police officer or firefighter, or a child or stepchild, whether by blood or adoption, of any age whose expenses of daily living were substantially paid for by the decedent at the time of the death.
\t\t\t(c) "Family'' means the surviving spouse of the police officer or firefighter who was wholly or partially dependent, in fact, upon the earnings of the police officer or firefighter; or, if there is no surviving spouse, the surviving dependent child or dependent children, of such police officer or firefighter 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 police officer or firefighter. [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)] (d) "Firefighter'' means any firefighter, including auxiliary, intermittent, special, part-time, volunteer, call, or reserve firefighters who are employed by a city, town, village district, or precinct within the state of New Hampshire, any firefighter employed by the state of New Hampshire, or any firefighter who is a volunteer for or employed by a non-profit corporation which is the primary provider of fire protection for all or part of a New Hampshire municipality.
\t\t\t[(c)] (e) "Killed in the line of duty'' means a death of a police officer or firefighter 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\t\t[(d)] (f) "Police officer'' means any law enforcement officer with the power of arrest, including auxiliary, intermittent, special, part-time, or reserve police officers, or sheriffs and their deputies who are employed by a city, town, village district, county, or precinct within the state of New Hampshire, police officers employed by the university system of New Hampshire, and any state law enforcement officer employed by the state of New Hampshire who has power of arrest as determined by state law.
\t2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2734
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t11/30/15
SB 319-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\trelative to survivor benefits for families of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Administrative Services states this bill, as introduced, may increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact to state, county, and local revenue or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Administrative Services states this bill adds the definitions of "adult child" and "child" for purposes of determining survivor benefits for families of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. This bill expands the eligibility criteria from a surviving dependent child or step child whose daily living expenses were substantially paid for by the decedent, to include a child or step child, under the age of 27 whose daily living expenses were substantially paid for by the deceased and a child age 27 or older, at the time of death of the deceased. To the extent qualifying police or firefighters are killed in the line of duty and have children who meet the new eligibility criteria, state expenditures may increase by an indeterminable amount. The Department of Administrative Services states it anticipates this bill will not impact the operational costs of administering the survivor benefit program.