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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
supplemental benefits; eligible persons
Purpose
Subject to voter approval, statutorily requires Arizona to pay the difference of $1,000,000 and the sum of any one-time death benefit received from a government entity to the surviving spouse or dependent of an eligible public safety officer killed in the line of duty, or $50,000 if an eligible public safety officer becomes disabled in the line of duty.
Background
The Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program (PSOB Program) provides cash benefits to federal, state and local law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical service members who are killed or permanently and totally disabled as a result of personal injuries sustained in the line of duty. Benefits are also available to officers of correctional facilities (34 U.S.C. § 10284). The PSOB Program benefit amount for eligible deaths and disabilities occurring on or after October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020, is $365,670 (U.S. Department of Justice).
For
a person to qualify for social security disability insurance (SSDI), the person
must first meet the U.S. Social Security Administration's (U.S. SSA) definition
of disability, which includes all of the following criteria: 1) the
employment status and average earnings of the person;
2) whether the person's condition significantly limits their ability to perform
basic work for at least 12 months; 3) whether the person's condition is
included on the U.S. SSA's list of severe medical conditions; and 4) whether the
person's condition prevents them from performing past work or any other type of
work. A person also must have been employed in a job covered by social security
and earned the required amount of work credits as outlined (U.S. SSA).
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee fiscal note indicates that S.C.R. 1004, if approved by the voters in the next general election, would increase General Fund costs by an estimated $2.5 million annually. Of this amount, $2.4 million reflects death benefit payments and $100,000 reflects disability payments. These figures are based on four reported deaths of Public Safety Personnel Retirement System members in 2019 and an assumed average of two PSOB disability applicants per year. The fiscal note indicates that the fiscal impact cannot be determined in advance with certainty because the magnitude depends on the number and type of eligible persons that are killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty after the law goes into effect.
Provisions
1. Requires Arizona to pay the surviving spouse or dependent of an eligible person killed in the line of duty, in addition to any other death benefit, the difference of $1,000,000 and the sum of the amounts from any onetime death benefit that is paid by any governmental entity.
2. Caps, at $10,000,000, the total amount that may be paid to eligible persons involved in a single incident where multiple eligible persons are killed in the line of duty.
3. Requires monies paid to multiple eligible persons to be paid on a pro rata basis if necessary.
4. Requires Arizona to pay a state supplemental disability benefit, in addition to any other disability benefit, of $50,000 to an eligible person who becomes disabled in the line of duty if the eligible person qualifies for SSDI.
5. Defines eligible person as any of the following:
a) a police officer, firefighter, county sheriff, county deputies or state highway patrol officer who is a member of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System;
b) an emergency medical technician;
c) a state correctional officer who is employed by the Arizona Department of Corrections;
d) a U.S. border patrol agent who is assigned to an Arizona sector;
e) a member of the Arizona Army National Guard;
f) a private prison security officer;
g) a parole or probation officer;
h) a security guard who is employed by Arizona, a city, town or county or other political subdivision of Arizona; or
i) a police officer or firefighter employed by an Indian Reservation agency in Arizona.
6. Specifies that eligible persons must be Arizona residents.
7. Defines killed in the line of duty as death that is the direct and proximate result of the performance of the decedent’s duties and does not include suicide.
8. Requires the Secretary of State to submit the proposition to the voters at the next general election.
9. Becomes effective if approved by the voters and on proclamation of the Governor.
Amendments Adopted by the Transportation and Public Safety Committee
· Specifies that the death benefit for an eligible person equals the difference between $1,000,000 and the sum of any other onetime death benefits received from any governmental entity.
Amendments Adopted by the Appropriations Committee
1. Caps, at $10,000,000, the total amount of death benefits that may be paid out to eligible persons involved in a single incident.
2. Adds probation officers, and police and firefighters employed by an agency on Indian Reservation land in Arizona to the list of eligible persons.
3. Specifies that a person must be an Arizona resident to receive benefits.
Senate Action
TPS 1/29/20 DPA 4-3-1
APPROP 2/18/20 DPA 7-0-2
Prepared by Senate Research
February 20, 2020
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