Alabama 2022 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB67 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 HB67
2	2	2 216017-1
3	3	3 By Representatives Simpson and Pettus
4	4	4 RFD: County and Municipal Government
5	5	5 First Read: 11-JAN-22
6	6	6 PFD: 01/06/2022
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8	8	Page 0 1 216017-1:n:01/03/2022:HB/ma LSA2021-2663
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15	15	8 SYNOPSIS: Under existing law, an employee who is
16	16	9 disabled or killed as a result of an occupational
17	17	10 disease is entitled to compensation.
18	18	11 Also under existing law, an occupational
19	19	12 disease is not considered to include a mental
20	20	13 disease or disorder, including post-traumatic
21	21	14 stress disorder, unless a physical injury
22	22	15 accompanies the mental disease or disorder.
23	23	16 This bill would provide that a law
24	24	17 enforcement officer or firefighter employed by a
25	25	18 municipality, county, or fire district and
26	26	19 diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder would
27	27	20 be reimbursed for certain co-payments for treatment
28	28	21 or would require a county or municipality to
29	29	22 maintain sufficient coverage for the reimbursement
30	30	23 of co-payments.
31	31	24 This bill would also require counties,
32	32	25 municipalities, and fire districts to provide
33	33	26 disability payments or coverage for law enforcement
34	34	Page 1 1 officers and firefighters who are unable to return
35	35	2 to work as a result of PTSD.
36	36	3
37	37	4 A BILL
38	38	5 TO BE ENTITLED
39	39	6 AN ACT
40	40	7
41	41	8 Relating to counties, municipalities, and fire
42	42	9 districts; to provide that a law enforcement officer or
43	43	10 firefighter employed by a county, municipality, or fire
44	44	11 district and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder
45	45	12 would be reimbursed for certain copayments for treatment under
46	46	13 certain conditions; to require counties, municipalities, and
47	47	14 fire districts to maintain certain disability insurance
48	48	15 coverage for law enforcement officers and firefighters who are
49	49	16 unable to return to work as a result of post-traumatic stress
50	50	17 disorder under certain conditions; and to exclude certain
51	51	18 payments and reimbursement from state income taxation.
52	52	19 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
53	53	20 Section 1. (a) For the purposes of this act, the
54	54	21 following terms shall have the following meanings:
55	55	22 (1) FIREFIGHTER. A full-time paid firefighter
56	56	23 certified by the Alabama Fire College and employed by a
57	57	24 municipality, county, or fire district established under
58	58	25 Chapter 89 of Title 11, Code of Alabama 1975.
59	59	Page 2 1 (2) OFFICER. A law enforcement officer certified by
60	60	2 the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission
61	61	3 and employed full-time by a municipality or county.
62	62	4 (3) POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD). A mental
63	63	5 health condition that meets the diagnostic criteria in the
64	64	6 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth
65	65	7 Edition, published by the American Psychiatric Association.
66	66	8 (4) SPECIFIC EVENT. An isolated and extraordinarily
67	67	9 traumatic event that involves an officer or firefighter acting
68	68	10 within the line and scope of duty and that includes the
69	69	11 officer or firefighter satisfying either of the following:
70	70	12 a. Witnessing or being directly engaged in actions
71	71	13 resulting in the death of an individual or individuals on the
72	72	14 scene of the event.
73	73	15 b. Witnessing or being directly engaged in actions,
74	74	16 during or in rapid emergency response immediately after the
75	75	17 occurrence, that resulted in injuries of such an extraordinary
76	76	18 and severe nature that they lead directly to the death of an
77	77	19 individual or individuals due to the injuries on the way to,
78	78	20 or no more than 48 hours after reaching, a hospital for
79	79	21 initial treatment.
80	80	22 (b)(1) A county, municipality, or fire district
81	81	23 shall reimburse an officer or firefighter employed by the
82	82	24 county, municipality, or fire district for any copayment paid
83	83	25 by or on behalf of the officer or firefighter for the
84	84	26 treatment, including counseling or therapy, of PTSD or shall
85	85	27 maintain sufficient coverage to provide any reimbursement of
86	86	Page 3 1 copayment paid by or on behalf of the officer or firefighter
87	87	2 for the treatment of PTSD, including counseling or therapy.
88	88	3 (2) To be eligible for reimbursement of copayment
89	89	4 costs or coverage under this subsection, the officer or
90	90	5 firefighter must satisfy all of the following:
91	91	6 a. Agree that the employing county, municipality, or
92	92	7 fire district is not liable under Chapter 5, Title 25, Code of
93	93	8 Alabama 1975, to the officer or firefighter who elects to
94	94	9 receive benefits under this act. The exemption from liability
95	95	10 provided by this paragraph is based on the specific diagnosis
96	96	11 for which the officer or firefighter elects to receive
97	97	12 benefits.
98	98	13 b. The officer or firefighter participated in a peer
99	99	14 support event, as defined under Section 36-21-14, Code of
100	100	15 Alabama 1975, where such services are reasonably available,
101	101	16 conducted by a certified peer support member where the officer
102	102	17 or firefighter received a debriefing, defusing, or coaching
103	103	18 session.
104	104	19 c. The officer or firefighter received certification
105	105	20 from a licensed clinical psychologist or board certified
106	106	21 psychiatrist licensed to practice in this state and with
107	107	22 experience diagnosing PTSD, utilizing an evaluation that
108	108	23 includes symptom validity testing and other procedures to rule
109	109	24 out the presence of malingering by using established
110	110	25 guidelines and criteria, that the officer or firefighter has
111	111	26 post-traumatic stress disorder and that the disorder resulted
112	112	27 solely from his or her involvement in a specific event which
113	113	Page 4 1 occurred in the course of his or her employment and not from
114	114	2 an event or events which occurred outside the line and scope
115	115	3 of or prior to or after his or her employment.
116	116	4 d. The treating clinical psychologist or board
117	117	5 certified psychiatrist determines that the treatment,
118	118	6 including therapy or counseling, is medically necessary.
119	119	7 (c) The county, municipality, or fire district
120	120	8 employing an officer or firefighter shall provide disability
121	121	9 payments or coverage for those officers and firefighters who
122	122	10 qualify for the reimbursements required in subsection (b),
123	123	11 only if both of the following additional conditions are
124	124	12 satisfied:
125	125	13 (1) The treating licensed clinical psychologist or
126	126	14 board certified psychiatrist determines the officer or
127	127	15 firefighter is unable to continue his or her employment and is
128	128	16 unable to return to work as a result of his or her PTSD
129	129	17 resulting from the specific event that is eligible under
130	130	18 subsection (b).
131	131	19 (2) The officer or firefighter remains in the care
132	132	20 of the treating licensed clinical psychologist or board
133	133	21 certified psychiatrist for treatment and provides monthly
134	134	22 confirmation of his or her attendance at sessions, including
135	135	23 therapy or counseling, recommended by the treating health care
136	136	24 professional for his or her PTSD resulting from the specific
137	137	25 event that is eligible under subsection (b).
138	138	26 (d) The disability benefits required under this
139	139	27 section shall be in an amount equal to 66 2/3 percent of the
140	140	Page 5 1 officer or firefighter's base compensation at the time of the
141	141	2 specific event. Payments shall be made on a monthly basis
142	142	3 provided the officer or firefighter remains eligible as
143	143	4 required in this subsection. The term of payment shall be for
144	144	5 a total of no more than 12 months for any incident eligible
145	145	6 under subsection (b).
146	146	7 (e) An officer or firefighter who receives benefits
147	147	8 under this section may only be eligible to return to work in
148	148	9 the same or similar role with any county, municipal, or fire
149	149	10 district when the return is authorized, in writing, by the
150	150	11 treating licensed clinical psychologist or board certified
151	151	12 psychiatrist who certified eligibility as required in
152	152	13 subsection (b). If the clinical licensed psychologist or board
153	153	14 certified psychiatrist who made the original diagnosis is
154	154	15 unavailable, an officer or firefighter may receive an
155	155	16 authorization from another clinical licensed psychologist or
156	156	17 board certified psychiatrist who meets the standards required
157	157	18 in paragraph (b)(2)c.
158	158	19 (f) A self-insurance group established by a county
159	159	20 under Chapter 26 of Title 11, Code of Alabama 1975, may
160	160	21 provide the disability payments required by this section for
161	161	22 an officer or firefighter employed by a member of the
162	162	23 self-insurance group.
163	163	24 (g) Any payments received by a covered employee
164	164	25 pursuant to this act, to any extent the amounts are included
165	165	26 in the federal adjusted gross income of the taxpayer, shall be
166	166	27 excluded from taxable income for state income tax purposes.
167	167	Page 6 1 Any funds received as premiums for the coverages provided by
168	168	2 this act may not be subject to any premium taxes otherwise
169	169	3 required by law.
170	170	4 Section 2. The reimbursement and benefits
171	171	5 requirements of this act shall not apply to PTSD resulting
172	172	6 from specific events occurring prior to the effective date of
173	173	7 this act.
174	174	8 Section 3. Volunteer fire departments may elect to
175	175	9 provide the benefits provided in this act to members meeting
176	176	10 the criteria established for the provision of the payment of
177	177	11 disability benefits provided in Section 1(c) and the
178	178	12 reimbursement of the co-payments made by or on behalf of a
179	179	13 member for the treatment, including counseling or therapy,
180	180	14 provided in Section 1(b)(1). A participating volunteer fire
181	181	15 department shall pay all costs associated with the benefits
182	182	16 and may discontinue benefits at its discretion by providing
183	183	17 its members with at least 60 days' notice. A participating
184	184	18 volunteer fire department shall also establish a methodology
185	185	19 for determining the amount of the disability benefits provided
186	186	20 to its members and shall apply the methodology equally and
187	187	21 without discrimination to each of its members.
188	188	22 Section 4. This act shall become effective January
189	189	23 1, 2023, following its passage and approval by the Governor,
190	190	24 or its otherwise becoming law.
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