Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION
                  Introduced House Bill 4668
                 By Delegate Steele [Introduced January 12, 2024; Referred to the Committee on Jails and Prisons then Finance]
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  A BILL to amend and reenact §5H-1-2 and §5H-1-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
         amended, all relating to adding Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation employees
         working at institutions managed by the commissioner to the Survivor Benefits Act; defining
         the qualifying acts for eligibility for payment of survivor benefits for Division of Corrections
         and Rehabilitation personnel to include but not be limited to, training functions,
         administrative meetings, corrections or parole incidents or activities, interactions with
         inmates, former inmates, inmates or former inmates' family or associates, parolees, former
         parolees, former parolees' family or associates, and travel to or from any of these activities;
         and creating a retroactive effective date of March 14, 2020.
     Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
     ARTICLE 1. WEST VIRGINIA EMERGENCY RESPONDERS SURVIVOR BENEFIT
            ACT.
     §5H-1-2. First responder survivor benefit.
         (a) Terms. — For the purposes of this article, the following terms have the following
  meanings:
         (1) "Emergency responder" means a paid or volunteer firefighter, EMS personnel, law-
  enforcement agency personnel, or Division of Forestry personnel, or Division of Corrections and
  Rehabilitation personnel assigned to and working at an institution managed by the commissioner
  as described in §15A-3-12(a) of this code.
         (2) "Emergency response duties" means:
         (A) (1) For a firefighter, EMS provider, or law-enforcement agency personnel, participation
  in any role of a fire department, EMS agency, or law-enforcement agency function, including, but
 not limited to: Training functions; administrative meetings; fire department, EMS agency, or law-
 enforcement incidents or service calls; apparatus, equipment, or station maintenance; and
 fundraisers, including travel to or from such functions; and
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           (B) (2) For a Division of Forestry employee, participation in Division of Forestry wildland fire
 fighting, emergency, or disaster response operations, including, but not limited to, travel to and
 from the locations of wildland fires, emergencies, or disasters; and
           (3) For a Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation employee, participation in any role in
 the division, including, but not limited to, training functions; administrative meetings; corrections or
 parole incidents or activities; interactions with inmates, former inmates, inmates or former inmates'
 family or associates, parolees, former parolees, former parolees' family, or associates; and travel
 to or from any of these activities.
           (3) "Law-enforcement agency" means any duly authorized state, county, or municipal
 organization employing one or more persons whose responsibility is the enforcement of laws of
 the state or any county or municipality thereof: Provided, That neither the Public Service
 Commission nor any state institution of higher education nor any resort area district is a law-
 enforcement agency.
           (4) "Travel" includes riding upon or in any apparatus or vehicle which is owned or used by
 the fire department, EMS agency, law-enforcement agency, or the Division of Forestry, or any
 other vehicle going to, or directly returning from, an emergency responder’s home, place of
 business, or other place where he or she shall have has been prior to participating in a fire
 department function, EMS agency function, law-enforcement agency function, or a Division of
 Forestry wildland fire-fighting operation, or upon the authorization of the chief of the department,
 agency head, or other person in charge.
           (b) An emergency responder who dies as a proximate result of the performance of his or
 her emergency response duties is eligible for the survivor benefits established by this act article.
           (c) Within 30 days after the death of an eligible emergency responder, the department or
 agency head shall submit certification of the death to the Governor's Office. Certification of the
 death shall include the name of the certified fire department, EMS agency, law-enforcement
 agency, or Division of Forestry program, the name of the deceased emergency responder, the
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 name or names and addresses of the beneficiary or beneficiaries, any documentation designating
 a beneficiary or beneficiaries, and a description of the circumstances that qualify the deceased
 individual for survivor benefits under this act article.
           (d) Upon receipt of the certification of the death from the certified fire department, EMS
 agency, law-enforcement agency, or Division of Forestry program, the state shall, from moneys
 from the State Treasury, General Fund, pay to the certified fire department, EMS agency, law-
 enforcement agency, or Division of Forestry program the sum of $100,000 in the name of the
 beneficiary or beneficiaries of the emergency responder eligible for the survivor benefit. Within five
 days of receipt of this sum from the state, the fire department, EMS agency, law-enforcement
 agency, or Division of Forestry Program shall pay the sum as a benefit to the surviving designated
 beneficiary or beneficiaries. If there is no surviving designated beneficiary, then the sum shall be
 paid as if the decedent had designated as beneficiaries those persons who are entitled to inherit
 the decedent’s intestate estate, in the proportions established by §42-1-3 and §42-1-3a of this
 code. It is the responsibility of the certified fire department, EMS agency, law-enforcement agency,
 or Division of Forestry program to document the beneficiary or beneficiaries above mentioned for
 purposes of reporting to the Governor's Office.
           (e) Any death ruled by a physician to be a result of an injury sustained during performance
 of emergency response duties makes a deceased emergency responder eligible for this benefit,
 regardless of when the death occurs.
           (f) The death of an eligible emergency responder qualifies his or her beneficiaries for only
 one state survivor benefit, paid pursuant to the provisions of this section, regardless of the amount.
           (g) Every department or agency head employing persons to which this article applies shall
 provide notice of the benefit provided hereby to such employees and encourage covered
 employees to provide a written designation of beneficiary to be maintained in the employee’s
 personnel file.
           (h) A person applying to the State Fire Marshal for certification as a firefighter shall provide
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 a written designation of beneficiary using forms and procedures prescribed by the State Fire
 Marshal.
           (i) A person applying to the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health for emergency
 medical services personnel certification shall provide a written designation of beneficiary using
 forms and procedures prescribed by the commissioner.
     §5H-1-3. Effective date.
            (a) The effective date for this act article is January 1, 2007. The operation of the
  amendments to this article enacted during the year 2012 shall be effective retroactively to January
  1, 2012.
            (b) The operation of the amendments to this article enacted during the 2018 First
  Extraordinary Session of the Legislature shall be effective retroactively to January 1, 2018.
            (c) The operation of the amendments to this article enacted during the 2024 Regular
  Session of the Legislature shall be effective retroactively to March 14, 2020.
               NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to add Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation employees who work at institutions managed by the Commissioner to the Survivor Benefits Act; define the qualifying acts for eligibility for payment of survivor benefits for Division of
               Corrections and Rehabilitation personnel to include but not be limited to training functions,
               administrative meetings, corrections or parole incidents or activities, interactions with inmates, former inmates, inmates or former inmates’ family or associates, parolees, former parolees, former parolees’ family or associates, and travel to or from any of these activities;
               and create a retroactive effective date of March 14, 2020.
               Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced Version: 5H-1-2, 5H-1-3