HB 2319 — An Act amending the act of June 24, 1976 (P.L.424, No.101), referred to as the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act, further providing for title of act; and adding provisions relating to telecommunicators.

PRINTER'S NO.   3093

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 2319
                                               Session of
                                                 2026

     INTRODUCED BY RIGBY, BOROWSKI, K. HARRIS, CAUSER AND ROWE,
        MARCH 25, 2026

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS AND EMERGENCY
        PREPAREDNESS, MARCH 26, 2026


                                    AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of June 24, 1976 (P.L.424, No.101), entitled
 2      "An act providing for the payment of death benefits to the
 3      surviving spouse or children or parents of firefighters,
 4      ambulance service or rescue squad members, law enforcement
 5      officers or National Guard members who die as a result of the
 6      performance of their duties," further providing for title of
 7      act; and adding provisions relating to telecommunicators.
 8      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 9   hereby enacts as follows:
10      Section 1.    The title of the act of June 24, 1976 (P.L.424,
11   No.101), referred to as the Emergency and Law Enforcement
12   Personnel Death Benefits Act, is amended to read:
13                                  AN ACT
14   Providing for the payment of death benefits to the surviving
15      spouse or children or parents of firefighters, ambulance
16      service or rescue squad members, law enforcement officers,
17      telecommunicators or National Guard members who die as a
18      result of the performance of their duties.
19      Section 2.    Section 1(a), (a.1) and (d) of the act are
20   amended and the section is amended by adding a subsection to
 1   read:
 2      Section 1.    (a)   In the event a law enforcement officer,
 3   telecommunicator, ambulance service or rescue squad member,
 4   firefighter, certified hazardous material response team member,
 5   member of the Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol or National Guard
 6   member dies as a result of the performance of his duties, an
 7   application, including a certification of death, shall be made
 8   to the department within three years of the date of such death
 9   by any of the following:
10      (1)     A political subdivision.
11      (2)     A Commonwealth agency.
12      (3)     In the case of National Guard members, the Adjutant
13   General.
14      (4)     In the case of a member of a Commonwealth law
15   enforcement agency, the agency head.
16      (5)     In the case of a campus police officer, the university
17   or college president.
18      (6)     Any survivor eligible for payment of benefits under this
19   act or individual authorized to act on the survivor's behalf.
20      (7)     In the case of the Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol, the
21   State Commander.
22      (a.1)    A firefighter, ambulance service or rescue squad
23   member, law enforcement officer, telecommunicator, certified
24   hazardous material response team member, member of the
25   Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol or National Guard member who
26   suffers a fatal heart attack or stroke while on duty or not
27   later than 24 hours after participating in a physical training
28   exercise or responding to an emergency is presumed to have died
29   as a result of the performance of his duties for purposes of
30   this act.

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 1      * * *
 2      (d)   Upon receipt of such certification, the Commonwealth
 3   shall, from moneys payable out of the General Fund, pay to the
 4   surviving spouse or, if there is no surviving spouse, to the
 5   minor children of the paid firefighter, ambulance service or
 6   rescue squad member [or], law enforcement officer or
 7   telecommunicator who died as a result of the performance of his
 8   duty the sum of $100,000, adjusted in accordance with subsection
 9   (f) of this section and an amount equal to the monthly salary,
10   adjusted in accordance with subsection (f) of this section, of
11   the deceased paid firefighter, ambulance service or rescue squad
12   member [or], law enforcement officer or telecommunicator, less
13   any workers' compensation or pension or retirement benefits paid
14   to such survivors, and shall continue such monthly payments
15   until there is no eligible beneficiary to receive them. For the
16   purpose of this subsection, the term "eligible beneficiary"
17   means the surviving spouse or the child or children under the
18   age of eighteen years or, if attending college, under the age of
19   twenty-three years, of the firefighter, ambulance service or
20   rescue squad member [or], law enforcement officer or
21   telecommunicator who died as a result of the performance of his
22   duty. When no spouse or minor children survive, a single sum of
23   $100,000, adjusted in accordance with subsection (f) of this
24   section, shall be paid to the parent or parents of such
25   firefighter, ambulance service member, rescue squad member [or],
26   law enforcement officer or telecommunicator.
27      * * *
28      (h)   A telecommunicator shall be deemed to be acting in the
29   performance of his duties for the purposes of this act when
30   acting in accordance with 35 Pa.C.S. Ch. 53 (relating to 911

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 1   emergency communication services).
 2      Section 3.   Sections 2 and 2.1 of the act are amended to
 3   read:
 4      Section 2.   The following words and phrases when used in this
 5   act shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless
 6   the context clearly indicates otherwise:
 7      "Certified hazardous material response team member" means a
 8   person who is part of a group of individuals who are certified
 9   and organized by a Commonwealth agency, a local agency or a
10   regional hazardous material organization for the primary purpose
11   of providing emergency response services which is dispatched by
12   a public safety answering point to mitigate actual or potential
13   immediate threats to public health and the environment in
14   response to the release or threat of a release of a hazardous
15   material, which is certified, trained and equipped in accordance
16   with the act of December 7, 1990 (P.L.639, No.165), known as the
17   Hazardous Material Emergency Planning and Response Act.
18   Hazardous material response team members who are dispatched by a
19   public safety answering point may also be certified to perform
20   stabilization actions needed to remove threats to public health
21   and the environment from hazardous material releases. A member
22   of a for-profit hazardous material response team that was not
23   dispatched by a public safety answering point, is acting as an
24   agent on behalf of the spiller or responsible party or is
25   responsible for post-emergency or nonemergency response
26   hazardous materials/hazardous waste clean-up activities is not
27   eligible for compensation that is provided for under this act.
28      "Department" means the Department of General Services of the
29   Commonwealth.
30      "Firefighter, ambulance service or rescue squad member or law

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 1   enforcement officer" means a firefighter; a member of a
 2   volunteer fire company; a member of an ambulance service or
 3   rescue squad; a peace officer as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 501
 4   (relating to definitions); a public servant concerned in
 5   official detention as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 5121 (relating to
 6   escape); an officer or employee of a State correctional
 7   institution; guards or employees of county jails and prisons; or
 8   any other law enforcement officer employed by the Commonwealth
 9   or a political subdivision.
10      "Public safety answering point" means the Pennsylvania
11   Emergency Management Agency-approved first point at which calls
12   for emergency assistance from individuals are answered, operated
13   24 hours a day.
14      "Telecommunicator" means an individual employed by a public
15   safety answering point as defined in 35 Pa.C.S. § 5302 (relating
16   to definitions), whose primary responsibility is to receive,
17   process, transmit or dispatch emergency and nonemergency calls
18   for service for emergency medical, fire and rescue, law
19   enforcement or other public safety services via telephone, radio
20   or other communication device. The term includes call takers,
21   emergency dispatchers and supervisors.
22      Section 2.1.     This act shall be broadly construed to grant
23   benefits to firefighters, ambulance service or rescue squad
24   members, law enforcement officers [or], telecommunicators or
25   National Guard personnel for deaths related to the performance
26   of their duties.
27      Section 4.     This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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