Act No. 284

Public Acts of 2016

Approved by the Governor

September 27, 2016

Filed with the Secretary of State

September 27, 2016

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 27, 2016

STATE OF MICHIGAN

98TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2016

Introduced by Senators Schmidt, Jones, Horn, Bieda, Knezek, Ananich, Gregory, Brandenburg, Zorn, MacGregor, Rocca, Hood, Nofs, Proos, Schuitmaker, Casperson, Hildenbrand, O’Brien, Booher, Green, Hansen, Hertel, Hopgood, Hune, Knollenberg, Kowall, Marleau, Meekhof, Pavlov, Robertson, Shirkey, Stamas, Warren, Young, Emmons and Johnson

ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 218

AN ACT to amend 2004 PA 46, entitled “An act to provide compensation to dependents of public safety officers who are killed or who are permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty; to create the public safety officers benefit fund; to prescribe the duties and responsibilities of certain state officers; and to make an appropriation,” by amending the title and section 2 (MCL 28.632) and by adding section 4a.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

TITLE

An act to provide compensation and other benefits to dependents of public safety officers who are killed or who are permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty; to create the public safety officers benefit fund; to prescribe the duties and responsibilities of certain state officers; and to make an appropriation.

Sec. 2. As used in this act:

(a) “Commission” means the commission on law enforcement standards created under the commission on law enforcement standards act, 1965 PA 203, MCL 28.601 to 28.616.

(b) “Dependent” means any individual who was substantially reliant for support upon the income of the deceased public safety officer.

(d) “Firefighter” means a regularly employed member of a fire department of a city, county, township, village, state university, or community college or any authority, district, board, or other entity created in whole or in part by 1 or more cities, counties, villages, or townships, or a member of the department of natural resources who is employed to fight fires. Firefighter includes a volunteer member of a fire department.

(e) “Law enforcement officer” means an individual involved in crime and juvenile delinquency control or reduction or enforcement of the criminal law. Law enforcement officer includes police, corrections, probation, parole, bailiffs, or other similar court officers.

(f) “Line of duty” means either of the following:

(i) Any action which an officer whose primary function is crime control or reduction, enforcement of the criminal law, or suppression of fires is obligated or authorized by rule, regulations, condition of employment or service, or law to perform, including those social, ceremonial, or athletic functions to which the officer is assigned, or for which the officer is compensated, by the public agency he or she serves. For other officers, line of duty means any action the officer is so obligated or authorized to perform in the course or controlling or reducing crime, enforcing the criminal law, or suppressing fires.

(ii) Any action which an officially recognized or designated public employee member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew is obligated or authorized by rule, regulation, condition of employment or service, or law to perform.

(g) “Medical benefit plan” means a plan to provide for the payment of medical, optical, or dental benefits, including, but not limited to, hospital and physician services, prescription drugs, and related benefits.

(h) “Member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew” means an emergency medical technician, a medical first responder, or a paramedic, as those terms are defined in sections 20904, 20906, and 20908 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.20904, 333.20906, and 333.20908, or an officially recognized or designated employee or volunteer member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew.

(i) “Permanent and total disability” means medically determinable consequences of a catastrophic, line-of-duty injury that permanently prevent a former public safety officer from performing any gainful work.

(j) “Public safety officer” or “officer” means any individual serving a public agency or any authority, district, board, or other entity created in whole or in part by 1 or more cities, counties, villages, or townships, in an official capacity, with or without compensation, as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew.

(k) “Surviving spouse” means the husband or wife of the deceased officer at the time of the officer’s death, and includes a spouse living apart from the officer at the time of the officer’s death for any reason.

Sec. 4a. (1) If a public safety officer dies as a direct and proximate result of a personal injury that is sustained in the line of duty on or after October 1, 2015, this state, upon notice to the office of retirement services from the public agency or entity the officer served, and subject to appropriation, shall provide to the decedent’s surviving spouse and dependent children a comparable medical benefit plan on comparable terms to the medical benefit plan offered to Michigan state police trooper retirees, including any change to the medical benefit plan after the public safety officer’s death. Coverage for a surviving spouse or dependent child under this section is not required to be provided for more than 60 months after the later of the public safety officer’s death or the effective date of this section. Coverage under this section is not required to be provided during any period during which the surviving spouse or dependent child, respectively, has qualified for and is covered by a medical benefit plan from another source. Coverage provided under this section ends for a surviving spouse upon Medicare eligibility. Coverage for a dependent child is not required to be provided under this section after the limiting age for a dependent child or another terminating event that is provided in the medical benefit plan for Michigan state police trooper retirees. However, if 42 USC 300gg-14 requires that dependent child eligibility be applied more broadly, this state shall make the coverage available in compliance with that law.

(2) This section does not require this state to provide medical benefits to a surviving spouse or dependent child who, as a result of the public safety officer’s death and independent of this section, would receive benefits under a medical benefit plan through a retirement system administered by this state.

(3) In a manner determined by the office of retirement services, the office of retirement services shall administer benefits provided under this section as part of the Michigan state police trooper retiree medical benefit plan and may coordinate the funding or prefunding of those benefits. The office of retirement services shall determine, at its sole discretion, if a medical benefit plan is comparable and offered on comparable terms to the medical benefit plan offered to Michigan state police trooper retirees for purposes of determining the medical benefit plan that will be offered under this section.

(4) For purposes of this section, “dependent child” means any of the following dependents with respect to the deceased public safety officer:

(a) His or her unmarried natural or adopted child.

(b) A child lawfully placed for adoption with the public safety officer.

(d) A child under the age of 18 if full legal guardianship was awarded to the public safety officer.

(5) If a dependent child of a deceased public safety officer is receiving coverage under this section, a child of the dependent child is not also a dependent child for purposes of this section.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Secretary of the Senate

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Approved

Governor