H.R. 4018 (112th): Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Improvements Act of 2012

Introduced:
Feb 14, 2012 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
Sponsor:
Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick [R-PA8]
Status:
Died (Passed House)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House on June 27, 2012 but was never passed by the Senate.

Progress
Introduced Feb 14, 2012
Referred to Committee Feb 14, 2012
Reported by Committee Jun 06, 2012
Passed House Jun 27, 2012
Cosponsors
18 cosponsors (9R, 9D) (show)
Committees

House Judiciary

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To improve the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Jun 29, 2012.
18 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

6/27/2012--Passed House amended.
Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvements Act of 2012 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise provisions concerning public safety officer death or disability benefits, including by:
(1) modifying the list of recipients of death benefits payable when a public safety officer has died as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty to include as an eligible individual, if there is no other individual meeting existing eligibility requirements, the surviving individual (or individuals, in equal shares) who would qualify as an eligible "child" but for age;
(2) providing that disability benefits shall be payable when an officer has become permanently and totally disabled as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury (currently, as the direct result of a catastrophic injury) sustained in the line of duty;
(3) eliminating the $5,000,000 limit on total annual disability benefits paid;
(4) providing that death or disability benefits shall not be in addition to payments under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001;
(5) revising the criteria for death resulting from a heart attack, stroke, or vascular rupture suffered by a public safety officer while on duty;
(6) including within the definitions of "member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew" and "public safety officer" an officially recognized or designated employee or volunteer member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew that is a public agency or a nonprofit entity serving the public that is officially authorized or licensed to engage in rescue activity or to provide emergency medical services and that engages in rescue activities or provides emergency medical services as part of an official emergency response system; and
(7) making those who have sustained a catastrophic injury in the line of duty eligible for peer support and counseling programs.
Makes funds available for appeals from final determinations (currently, decisions) of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and for expenses of representation of hearing examiners, with respect to public safety officer's death benefits under specified circumstances.
Provides that no appeal shall bring a final determination of the Bureau before any court for review unless notice of appeal is filed within 90 days after the date on which the Bureau serves notice of the final determination.
Defines a "hearing examiner" under such Act to include any medical or claims examiner.
Makes this Act applicable to injuries sustained by a member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew on or after June 1, 2009.
Makes provisions regarding the presumption of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty for public safety officers applicable to heart attacks, strokes, and vascular ruptures sustained on or after December 15, 2003.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/112/2/hr4018.

Summary

H.R. 4018 would amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise provisions concerning public safety officer death or disability benefits.  Specifically, the bill would do the following:

 

  1. Modify the list of recipients of death benefits payable when a public safety officer has died as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty to include as an eligible individual, if there is no other individual meeting existing eligibility requirements, the surviving individual (or individuals, in equal shares) who would qualify as an eligible "child" but for age;
  2. Provide that disability benefits be payable when an officer has become permanently and totally disabled as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury (currently, as the direct result of a catastrophic injury) sustained in the line of duty;
  3. Eliminate the $5,000,000 limit on total annual disability benefits paid;
  4. Provide that death or disability benefits shall not be in addition to payments under the September 11th  Victim Compensation Fund of 2001;
  5. Revise the criteria for death resulting from a heart attack, stroke, or vascular rupture suffered by a public safety officer while on duty;
  6. Include within the definitions of "member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew" and "public safety officer" an officially recognized or designated employee or volunteer member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew that is a public agency or a nonprofit entity serving the public that is officially authorized or licensed to engage in rescue activity or to provide emergency medical services and that is officially designated as a pre-hospital emergency medical response agency; and
  7. Make those who have sustained a catastrophic injury in the line of duty eligible for peer support and counseling programs. 

Cost

According to CBO, enacting the legislation would have no significant net effect on direct spending or discretionary spending from the PSOB program.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

Slip Laws

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United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)

Statutes at Large

The United States Statutes at Large is the compilation of all laws enacted by Congress.

  • 121 Stat. 1912