HB 1858 — 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, extending the payment of death benefits to surviving spouse or children or parents of corrections officers; and making editorial changes.

PRINTER'S NO.   2299

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1858
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY PIELLI, RIGBY, BRENNAN, HILL-EVANS, FREEMAN,
        GUENST, SANCHEZ, VENKAT, DONAHUE, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, HANBIDGE,
        KHAN, GILLEN, MALAGARI, RADER, HOGAN, WEBSTER, MULLINS,
        M. JONES, BERNSTINE, LEADBETER, BURNS, IRVIN, CONKLIN, GIRAL,
        SHUSTERMAN, NEILSON, HOHENSTEIN, FRIEL, KUTZ, DELLOSO,
        GOUGHNOUR, HADDOCK, O'MARA, MUNROE, BOROWSKI AND CIRESI,
        SEPTEMBER 10, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, SEPTEMBER 10, 2025


                                    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," extending the payment of death
 7      benefits to surviving spouse or children or parents of
 8      corrections officers; and making editorial changes.
 9      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
10   hereby enacts as follows:
11      Section 1.    The title and section 1(a) introductory
12   paragraph, (a.1), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (g) of the act of June
13   24, 1976 (P.L.424, No.101), referred to as the Emergency and Law
14   Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act, are amended to read:
15                                  AN ACT
16   Providing for the payment of death benefits to the surviving
17      spouse or children or parents of firefighters, ambulance
18      service or rescue squad members, law enforcement officers
 1      [or], National Guard members or corrections officers who die
 2      as a result of the performance of their duties.
 3      Section 1.   (a)   In the event a law enforcement officer,
 4   ambulance service or rescue squad member, firefighter, certified
 5   hazardous material response team member, member of the
 6   Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol [or], National Guard member or
 7   corrections officer dies as a result of the performance of [his]
 8   the individual's duties, an application, including a
 9   certification of death, shall be made to the department within
10   three years of the date of such death by any of the following:
11      * * *
12      (a.1)   A firefighter, ambulance service or rescue squad
13   member, law enforcement officer, certified hazardous material
14   response team member, member of the Pennsylvania Civil Air
15   Patrol [or], National Guard member or corrections officer who
16   suffers a fatal heart attack or stroke while on duty or not
17   later than 24 hours after participating in a physical training
18   exercise or responding to an emergency is presumed to have died
19   as a result of the performance of [his] the individual's duties
20   for purposes of this act.
21      (b)   A volunteer firefighter shall be deemed to be acting in
22   the performance of [his] the individual's duties for the
23   purposes of this act going to or directly returning from a fire
24   which the fire company or fire department attended including
25   travel from and direct return to a firefighter's home, place of
26   business or other place where [he or she] the individual shall
27   have been when [he or she] the individual received the call or
28   alarm or while participating in instruction fire drills in which
29   the fire department or fire company shall have participated or
30   while repairing or doing other work about or on the fire

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 1   apparatus or buildings and grounds of the fire company or fire
 2   department upon the authorization of the chief of the fire
 3   company or fire department or other person in charge or while
 4   answering any emergency calls for any purpose or while riding
 5   upon the fire apparatus which is owned or used by the fire
 6   company or fire department or while performing any other duties
 7   of such fire company or fire department as authorized by the
 8   municipality or while performing duties imposed by section 15,
 9   act of April 27, 1927 (P.L.465, No.299), referred to as the Fire
10   and Panic Act.
11      (c)   A volunteer ambulance service, certified hazardous
12   material response team or rescue squad member or member of the
13   Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol shall be deemed to be acting in
14   the performance of [his] the individual's duties for the
15   purposes of this act going to or directly returning from an
16   emergency which the ambulance service, certified hazardous
17   material response team, rescue squad or member of the
18   Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol attended including travel from and
19   direct return to an ambulance service, certified hazardous
20   material response team, rescue squad or Pennsylvania Civil Air
21   Patrol member's home, place of business or other place where [he
22   or she] the individual shall have been when [he or she] the
23   individual received the call or alarm or while participating in
24   drills in which the ambulance service, certified hazardous
25   material response team, rescue squad or Pennsylvania Civil Air
26   Patrol shall have participated or while repairing or doing other
27   work about or on any emergency vehicle or buildings and grounds
28   of the ambulance service, certified hazardous material response
29   team, rescue squad or Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol upon the
30   authorization of the chief of the ambulance service, certified

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 1   hazardous material response team, rescue squad or Pennsylvania
 2   Civil Air Patrol or other person in charge while answering any
 3   emergency calls for any purpose or while riding upon any
 4   vehicles which are owned or used by the ambulance service,
 5   certified hazardous material response team, rescue squad or
 6   Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol.
 7      (d)   Upon receipt of such certification, the Commonwealth
 8   shall, from moneys payable out of the General Fund, pay to the
 9   surviving spouse or, if there is no surviving spouse, to the
10   minor children of the paid firefighter, ambulance service or
11   rescue squad member [or], law enforcement officer or corrections
12   officer who died as a result of the performance of [his] the
13   individual's duty the sum of $100,000, adjusted in accordance
14   with subsection (f) of this section and an amount equal to the
15   monthly salary, adjusted in accordance with subsection (f) of
16   this section, of the deceased paid firefighter, ambulance
17   service or rescue squad member [or], law enforcement officer or
18   corrections officer, less any workers' compensation or pension
19   or retirement benefits paid to such survivors, and shall
20   continue such monthly payments until there is no eligible
21   beneficiary to receive them. For the purpose of this subsection,
22   the term "eligible beneficiary" means the surviving spouse or
23   the child or children under the age of eighteen years or, if
24   attending college, under the age of twenty-three years, of the
25   firefighter, ambulance service or rescue squad member [or], law
26   enforcement officer or corrections officer who died as a result
27   of the performance of [his] the individual's duty. When no
28   spouse or minor children survive, a single sum of $100,000,
29   adjusted in accordance with subsection (f) of this section,
30   shall be paid to the parent or parents of such firefighter,

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 1   ambulance service member, rescue squad member [or], law
 2   enforcement officer or corrections officer.
 3      (e)   The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall pay out of the
 4   General Fund to the surviving spouse or, if there is no
 5   surviving spouse, the minor children of a National Guard member,
 6   certified hazardous material response team member, member of the
 7   Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol, volunteer firefighter, ambulance
 8   service or rescue squad member who died as a result of the
 9   performance of [his] the individual's duties the sum of
10   $100,000, adjusted in accordance with subsection (f) of this
11   section. When no spouse or minor children survive, the benefit
12   shall be paid to the parent or parents of such National Guard
13   member, certified hazardous material response team member,
14   member of the Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol, volunteer
15   firefighter, ambulance service or rescue squad member. The
16   benefit shall be payable whether or not the National Guard
17   member or certified hazardous material response team member,
18   member of the Pennsylvania Civil Air Patrol, volunteer
19   firefighter, ambulance service or rescue squad member died as a
20   result of the performance of [his] the individual's duty within
21   the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
22      * * *
23      (g)   A National Guard member shall be deemed to be acting in
24   the performance of [his] the individual's duties for the
25   purposes of this act when:
26      (1)   [his] the individual's death occurs in an official duty
27   status authorized under 51 Pa.C.S. § 508 (relating to active
28   State duty for emergency); or
29      (2)   going directly to or from the place of such duties.
30      Section 2.   Section 2 of the act is amended by adding

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 1   definitions to read:
 2      Section 2.   The following words and phrases when used in this
 3   act shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless
 4   the context clearly indicates otherwise:
 5      * * *
 6      "Correctional institution" means a correctional facility,
 7   prison or jail owned or operated by a county or the
 8   Commonwealth.
 9      "Corrections officer" means an individual employed at a
10   correctional institution to provide any security or custodial
11   service for inmates.
12      * * *
13      Section 3.   Sections 2.1 and 3 of the act are amended to
14   read:
15      Section 2.1.   This act shall be broadly construed to grant
16   benefits to firefighters, ambulance service or rescue squad
17   members, law enforcement officers [or], National Guard personnel
18   or corrections officers for deaths related to the performance of
19   their duties.
20      Section 3.   This act shall take effect immediately and its
21   provisions shall be retroactive to January 1, 1976 and shall be
22   applicable to the deaths of all firefighters, ambulance service
23   or rescue squad members [and], law enforcement personnel and
24   corrections officers dying on and after said date as the direct
25   result of injuries sustained in the performance of their duties,
26   regardless of the date when such injuries occurred.
27      Section 4.   This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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