HB 1521 — An Act amending the act of June 28, 1935 (P.L.477, No.193), referred to as the Enforcement Officer Disability Benefits Law, further providing for disability benefits and for definitions.

PRINTER'S NO.   1780

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1521
                                                Session of
                                                  2025

     INTRODUCED BY CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, PROBST, HILL-EVANS, McNEILL,
        SANCHEZ, HARKINS, MAYES, BRENNAN, OTTEN, DELLOSO, RIVERA AND
        NEILSON, MAY 29, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, MAY 30, 2025


                                     AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of June 28, 1935 (P.L.477, No.193), entitled
 2      "An act providing for the payment of the salary, medical and
 3      hospital expenses of certain employes of State and local
 4      government who are injured or contract certain diseases in
 5      the performance of their duty; and providing that absence
 6      during such injury shall not reduce any usual sick leave
 7      period," further providing for disability benefits and for
 8      definitions.
 9      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
10   hereby enacts as follows:
11      Section 1.    Section 1(a) and (b) of the act of June 28, 1935
12   (P.L.477, No.193), referred to as the Enforcement Officer
13   Disability Benefits Law, are amended to read:
14      Section 1.    (a)   Be it enacted, &c., That:
15      (1)   any member of the State Police Force;
16      (2)   any enforcement officer or investigator employed by the
17   Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board;
18      (3)   the parole agents employed by the Department of
19   Corrections;
20      (3.1)   probation officers employed by a participating county;
 1      (4)    Capitol Police officers;
 2      (4.1)    campus police officers employed by a participating
 3   university;
 4      (5)    correction employes employed by the Department of
 5   Corrections, whose principal duty is the care, custody and
 6   control of inmates;
 7      (5.1)    commissioned police officers employed by the
 8   Department of Corrections, Bureau of Investigations and
 9   Intelligence;
10      (6)    psychiatric security aides employed by the Department of
11   Human Services and the Department of Corrections, whose
12   principal duty is the care, custody, and control of the
13   criminally insane;
14      (7)    drug enforcement agents of the Office of Attorney
15   General whose principal duty is the enforcement of the drug laws
16   of the Commonwealth;
17      (8)    special agents of the Office of Attorney General whose
18   principal duty is the enforcement of the criminal laws of the
19   Commonwealth;
20      (9)    any member of the Delaware River Port Authority Police;
21      (10)    any policeman, fireman or park guard of any county,
22   city, borough, town or township;
23      (10.1)     firemen employed by the Commonwealth;
24      (11)    any sheriff or deputy sheriff;
25      (12)    any enforcement officer or investigator of the
26   Pennsylvania Game Commission or the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
27   Commission;
28      (13)    DCNR Rangers, DCNR Ranger Supervisors, DCNR Ranger
29   Operations Specialists, DCNR Ranger Trainees and State Park
30   Officers employed by the Department of Conservation and Natural

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 1   Resources;
 2      (14)   members of the Fort Indiantown Gap Police;
 3      (15)   enforcement officers, as defined in 71 Pa.C.S. § 5102
 4   (relating to definitions), who are employed by the Office of
 5   State Inspector General and whose principal duties include the
 6   enforcement of the provisions specified in section 506-A of the
 7   act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known as "The
 8   Administrative Code of 1929";
 9      (16)   transit police officers employed by a participating
10   transit or port authority;
11      (17)   members of the Allegheny County Housing Authority
12   Police;
13      (18)   housing police officers employed by a participating
14   housing authority; [or]
15      (19)   corrections officers or jail guards employed by a
16   participating county and whose principal duty is the care,
17   custody and control of inmates; or
18      (20)   public works employes;
19   who is injured in the performance of his duties including, in
20   the case of firemen, duty as special fire police, and by reason
21   thereof is temporarily incapacitated from performing his duties,
22   shall be paid by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania if an employe
23   identified under paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (5.1), (6),
24   (7), (8), (12), (13), (14) [or], (15) or (20) or by the Delaware
25   River Port Authority if a member of the Delaware River Port
26   Authority Police or by the participating university if a campus
27   police officer or by a participating transit or port authority
28   if a transit police officer or by the Allegheny County Housing
29   Authority if a member of the Allegheny County Housing Authority
30   Police or by a participating housing authority if a housing

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 1   police officer or by the county, township or municipality, by
 2   which he is employed, his full rate of salary, as fixed by
 3   ordinance or resolution, until the disability arising therefrom
 4   has ceased. All medical and hospital bills, incurred in
 5   connection with any such injury, shall be paid by the
 6   Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or by the Delaware River Port
 7   Authority or by the participating university or by the
 8   participating transit or port authority or by the Allegheny
 9   County Housing Authority or by the participating housing
10   authority or by such county, city, township or municipality.
11   During the time salary for temporary incapacity shall be paid by
12   the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or by the Delaware River Port
13   Authority or by the participating university or by the
14   participating transit or port authority or by the Allegheny
15   County Housing Authority or by the participating housing
16   authority or by the county, city, borough, town or township, any
17   workmen's compensation, received or collected by any such
18   employe for such period, shall be turned over to the
19   Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or to the Delaware River Port
20   Authority or to the participating university or to the
21   participating transit or port authority or to the Allegheny
22   County Housing Authority or to the participating housing
23   authority or to such county, city, borough, town or township,
24   and paid into the treasury thereof, and if such payment shall
25   not be so made by the employe the amount so due the Commonwealth
26   of Pennsylvania, the Delaware River Port Authority or the
27   participating university or the participating transit or port
28   authority or the Allegheny County Housing Authority or the
29   participating housing authority or the county, city, borough,
30   town or township shall be deducted from any salary then or

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 1   thereafter becoming due and owing.
 2      (b)    In the case of:
 3      (1)    the State Police Force;
 4      (2)    enforcement officers and investigators employed by the
 5   Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board;
 6      (3)    the parole agents employed by the Department of
 7   Corrections;
 8      (3.1)    probation officers employed by a participating county;
 9      (4)    Capitol Police officers;
10      (4.1)    campus police officers employed by a participating
11   university;
12      (5)    correction employes employed by the Department of
13   Corrections, whose principal duty is the care, custody and
14   control of inmates;
15      (5.1)    commissioned police officers employed by the
16   Department of Corrections, Bureau of Investigations and
17   Intelligence;
18      (6)    psychiatric security aides employed by the Department of
19   Human Services and the Department of Corrections whose principal
20   duty is the care, custody, and control of the criminally insane;
21      (7)    drug enforcement agents of the Office of Attorney
22   General whose principal duty is the enforcement of the drug laws
23   of the Commonwealth;
24      (8)    special agents of the Office of Attorney General whose
25   principal duty is the enforcement of the criminal laws of the
26   Commonwealth;
27      (9)    members of the Delaware River Port Authority Police;
28      (10)    salaried policemen and firemen;
29      (10.1)     firemen employed by the Commonwealth;
30      (11)    sheriffs and deputy sheriffs;

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 1      (12)   enforcement officers and investigators of the
 2   Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
 3   Commission;
 4      (13)   DCNR Rangers, DCNR Ranger Supervisors, DCNR Ranger
 5   Operations Specialists, DCNR Ranger Trainees and State Park
 6   Officers employed by the Department of Conservation and Natural
 7   Resources;
 8      (14)   members of the Fort Indiantown Gap Police;
 9      (15)   enforcement officers, as defined in 71 Pa.C.S. § 5102,
10   who are employed by the Office of State Inspector General and
11   whose principal duties include the enforcement of the provisions
12   specified in section 506-A of "The Administrative Code of 1929";
13      (16)   transit police officers employed by a participating
14   transit or port authority;
15      (17)   members of the Allegheny County Housing Authority
16   Police;
17      (18)   housing police officers employed by a participating
18   housing authority; [and]
19      (19)   corrections officers or jail guards employed by a
20   participating county and whose principal duty is the care,
21   custody and control of inmates; and
22      (20)   public works employes;
23   who have served for four consecutive years or longer, diseases
24   of the heart and tuberculosis of the respiratory system,
25   contracted or incurred by any of them after four years of
26   continuous service as such, and caused by extreme overexertion
27   in times of stress or danger or by exposure to heat, smoke,
28   fumes or gases, arising directly out of the employment shall be
29   compensable in accordance with the terms hereof; and unless any
30   such disability shall be compensable under the compensation laws

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 1   as having been caused by accidental injury, such disability
 2   shall be compensable as occupational disease disabilities are
 3   presently compensable under the compensation laws of this
 4   Commonwealth. It shall be presumed that tuberculosis of the
 5   respiratory system contracted or incurred after four consecutive
 6   years of service was contracted or incurred as a direct result
 7   of employment.
 8      * * *
 9      Section 2.    Section 2.1 of the act is amended by adding
10   definitions to read:
11      Section 2.1.   For the purposes of this act, the following
12   words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
13   section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
14      * * *
15      "Public work."   Construction, reconstruction, demolition,
16   alteration or repair work other than maintenance work, done
17   under contract and paid for in whole or in part out of the funds
18   of a public body where the estimated cost of the total project
19   is in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), but
20   shall not include work performed under a rehabilitation or
21   manpower training program.
22      "Public works contractor."    A contractor that provides work
23   under a contract involving a public work.
24      "Public works employe."    An individual hired by a public
25   works contractor or subcontractor for whom the public works
26   contractor or subcontractor is required by Federal law to file a
27   Form W-2 with the Internal Revenue Service.
28      "Subcontractor."    A person, other than a natural person,
29   regardless of its tier, including, but not limited to, a
30   staffing agency that performs work for a public works contractor

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1   under a contract for a public work. The term does not include
2   persons that are material suppliers for a project.
3      Section 3.   This act shall take effect in 120 days.




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