Alabama 2023 Regular Session

Alabama House Bill HB323 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	HB323INTRODUCED
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3	3	PSQFER-1
4	4	By Representatives Pettus, Treadaway, Stringer, Rehm
5	5	RFD: County and Municipal Government
6	6	First Read: 13-Apr-23
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11	11	5 PSQFER-1 04/13/2023 JC (L)twg 2023-264
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13	13	SYNOPSIS:
14	14	Under existing workers' compensation law, an
15	15	occupational disease is not considered to include a
16	16	mental illness, including post-traumatic stress disorder
17	17	(PTSD), unless a physical injury accompanies the mental
18	18	illness.
19	19	This bill would require certain benefits be
20	20	provided to first responders who suffer from work-related
21	21	PTSD, including reimbursement for certain out-of-pocket
22	22	treatment expenses and paid time off for employed first
23	23	responders for treatment. It would provide eligibility
24	24	requirements for participants to receive the benefits.
25	25	This bill would authorize a fund to disburse the
26	26	benefits, to be established by the Alabama League of
27	27	Municipalities and regulated by the Secretary of the
28	28	Department of Labor.
29	29	This bill would also exempt paid benefits from
30	30	state income tax liability.
31	31	Section 111.05 of the Constitution of Alabama of
32	32	2022 prohibits a general law whose purpose or effect
33	33	would be to require a new or increased expenditure of
34	34	local funds from becoming effective with regard to a
35	35	local governmental entity without enactment by a 2/3 vote
36	36	unless: it comes within one of a number of specified
37	37	exceptions; it is approved by the affected entity; or the
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67	67	Legislature appropriates funds, or provides a local
68	68	source of revenue, to the entity for the purpose.
69	69	The purpose or effect of this bill would be to
70	70	require a new or increased expenditure of local funds
71	71	within the meaning of the amendment. If this bill is not
72	72	enacted by a 2/3 vote, it will not become effective with
73	73	regard to a local entity or until, and only as long as,
74	74	the Legislature appropriates funds or provides for a
75	75	local source of revenue.
76	76	A BILL
77	77	TO BE ENTITLED
78	78	AN ACT
79	79	Relating to first responders; to require certain
80	80	benefits be made available to first responders suffering from
81	81	work-related post-traumatic stress disorder; to make a certain
82	82	leave benefit available to employed first responders; to
83	83	authorize the Secretary of the Department of Labor to regulate
84	84	a fund established by the Alabama League of Municipalities to
85	85	provide the benefits payable to first responders; to exempt
86	86	benefit payments from the fund from state income tax; and to
87	87	have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or
88	88	increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of
89	89	Section 111.05 of the Constitution of Alabama of
90	90	2022.
91	91	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
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121	121	Section 1.For the purposes of this act, the
122	122	following terms have the following meanings:
123	123	(1) AUTHORIZED TREATING PHYSICIAN. A licensed
124	124	clinical psychologist or board-certified psychiatrist licensed
125	125	to practice in this state and with experience diagnosing PTSD,
126	126	utilizing an evaluation that includes symptom validity testing
127	127	and other procedures to rule out the presence of malingering
128	128	PTSD by using established guidelines and criteria.
129	129	(2) BENEFITS. The coverage provided under this act
130	130	as described in Section 3(b) through (d).
131	131	(3) COVERED PARTICIPANT. A first responder whose
132	132	annual premium has been paid in full into the fund.
133	133	(4) EMPLOYER. The employing municipality or fire
134	134	district entity which employs participants.
135	135	(5) FIRST RESPONDER: Any of the following:
136	136	a. CAREER FIREFIGHTER. Any individual employed by a
137	137	municipality or a fire district who has obtained certification
138	138	as a firefighter through, and as defined by, the Alabama
139	139	Firefighters' Personnel Standards and Education Commission.
140	140	b. VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER. Any individual who is an
141	141	active member of a volunteer or combination career and
142	142	volunteer fire department, as recognized by the Alabama
143	143	Forestry Commission, regardless of whether the individual is
144	144	certified as a volunteer firefighter through, and as defined
145	145	by, the Alabama Firefighters' Personnel Standards and
146	146	Education Commission, who may or may not receive remuneration
147	147	for firefighting activities, but is not offered typical
148	148	employment benefits, including health insurance coverage.
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178	178	c. OFFICER. A law enforcement officer certified by
179	179	the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission
180	180	and employed by a municipality.
181	181	(6) FUND. A legal entity established by the Alabama
182	182	League of Municipalities to administer the benefits provided
183	183	for in this act, subject to rules adopted by the Department of
184	184	Labor.
185	185	(7) GOVERNING BODY. The board, authority, or
186	186	individuals designated by the Alabama League of Municipalities
187	187	to administer the fund.
188	188	(8) POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD). A mental
189	189	health condition that meets the diagnostic criteria in the
190	190	Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth
191	191	Edition, published by the American Psychiatric Association.
192	192	(9) QUALIFYING EVENT. An isolated and
193	193	extraordinarily traumatic event involving a first responder
194	194	acting within the line and scope of duty and that includes the
195	195	first responder satisfying either of the following:
196	196	a. Witnessing or being directly engaged in actions
197	197	resulting in the death of an individual or individuals on the
198	198	scene of an event.
199	199	b. Witnessing or being directly engaged in actions,
200	200	during or in rapid emergency response immediately after the
201	201	occurrence, that resulted in injuries of such an extraordinary
202	202	and severe nature that they lead directly to the death of an
203	203	individual or individuals due to the injuries on the way to,
204	204	or no more than 48 hours after, reaching a hospital for
205	205	initial treatment.
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235	235	(10) SECRETARY. The Secretary of the Department of
236	236	Labor.
237	237	(11) VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT. A group of area
238	238	residents organized to provide fire protection and recognized
239	239	by the Alabama Forestry Commission as a volunteer fire
240	240	department.
241	241	(12) VOLUNTEER PARTICIPANT. A first responder whose
242	242	annual premium has been paid in full into the fund.
243	243	Section 2.The secretary shall be responsible for
244	244	the regulation of the fund as it relates to the requirements
245	245	of this act, and he or she shall adopt rules, including, but
246	246	not limited to, investment policies for any monies held by the
247	247	fund in furtherance of this act. Provided, however, nothing in
248	248	this act shall limit or restrict the governing body from
249	249	providing additional benefits to some or all first responders
250	250	on matters outside the scope of this act.
251	251	Section 3.(a) To claim benefits under this act, a
252	252	covered participant or volunteer participant must satisfy all
253	253	of the following:
254	254	(1) Experiences a qualifying event during the
255	255	12-month period immediately preceding the date the first claim
256	256	for benefits is submitted.
257	257	(2) Agrees that the employer or volunteer fire
258	258	department is not liable under Chapter 5, Title 25, Code of
259	259	Alabama 1975, to the covered participant or volunteer
260	260	participant who elects to receive benefits under this act. The
261	261	exemption from liability provided in this subdivision is based
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290	290	on the specific diagnosis for which the covered participant or
291	291	volunteer participant elects to receive benefits.
292	292	(3) Participates in an applicable peer support
293	293	event, conducted by a certified peer support member where the
294	294	covered participant or volunteer participant received a
295	295	debriefing, defusing, or coaching session in accordance with
296	296	Section 36-21-14, Code of Alabama 1975.
297	297	(4) Receives certification from an authorized
298	298	treating physician providing both of the following:
299	299	a. That the covered participant or volunteer
300	300	participant has been diagnosed with PTSD and that the disorder
301	301	resulted solely from his or her involvement in a qualifying
302	302	event that occurred in the course of his or her employment, or
303	303	in the case of a volunteer participant, during the course of
304	304	his or her activities with a volunteer fire department, and
305	305	not from an event or events that occurred outside the line and
306	306	scope of, or prior to or after, his or her employment or
307	307	activities with a volunteer fire department.
308	308	b. That the treatment, including therapy or
309	309	counseling, is medically necessary.
310	310	(5) Authorizes the governing body to communicate
311	311	with the authorized treating physician for the limited and
312	312	sole purpose of confirming PTSD treatment to the extent
313	313	necessary to verify claims for benefits pursuant to
314	314	subsections (b) through (d).
315	315	(b) The fund shall reimburse a covered participant
316	316	or volunteer participant currently employed by an employer or
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347	347	any co-payment or deductible not covered by the covered
348	348	participant or volunteer participant's health insurance and
349	349	paid by the covered participant or volunteer participant for
350	350	the treatment of PTSD. The total co-payment or deductible
351	351	benefits that a covered participant or volunteer participant
352	352	may receive may not exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000)
353	353	during his or her lifetime.
354	354	(c)(1) The fund shall reimburse a covered
355	355	participant or volunteer participant currently employed by an
356	356	employer or working with a volunteer fire department for
357	357	travel for PTSD treatment.
358	358	(2) The reimbursement shall be per mile for a round
359	359	trip at the current standard mileage rate set by the Internal
360	360	Revenue Service for medical care for income tax deduction if
361	361	the travel meets all of the following conditions:
362	362	a. The purpose is to visit an authorized treating
363	363	physician for PTSD treatment.
364	364	b. The mileage, one way, between the covered or
365	365	volunteer participant's residence and the authorized treating
366	366	physician is at least 25 miles.
367	367	c. The travel is not outside the State of Alabama.
368	368	(d) An employer covered by this act shall provide a
369	369	covered participant who is employed full time by the employer
370	370	up to an additional 80 working hours of paid leave, per claim
371	371	related to a specific event, to seek treatment for PTSD.
372	372	(1) Any leave taken to seek treatment for PTSD shall
373	373	be without any loss of pay, shall be in addition to all types
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402	402	of leave otherwise applicable under the employer's policies,
403	403	including sick leave, personal leave, and annual vacation.
404	404	(2) Any leave taken to seek treatment for PTSD shall
405	405	not be used by the employer as a factor in any performance
406	406	evaluation given to the covered participant or any
407	407	disciplinary action required under the employer's policies to
408	408	be administered to the covered participant.
409	409	Section 4.(a) The governing body shall establish
410	410	the annual premium for each calendar year using an actuarial
411	411	study and shall have these rates approved by the secretary to
412	412	ensure adequate funding for the fund. The computation of
413	413	premium amounts shall be subject to generally accepted
414	414	adjustments for insurance underwriting.
415	415	(b) All employers shall pay the applicable annual
416	416	premium into the fund for all eligible participants in their
417	417	employment by December 31 of each calendar year in order to
418	418	provide coverage for the following calendar year.
419	419	(c)(1) A volunteer fire department is not required
420	420	to provide coverage under this act for volunteer firefighters.
421	421	(2) A volunteer firefighter may elect to pay the
422	422	premium into the fund by December 31 of each calendar year, at
423	423	his or her own expense, in order to provide coverage for the
424	424	following calendar year.
425	425	(3) Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a
426	426	volunteer fire department, regional association of volunteer
427	427	fire departments, a municipality, or any combination of these
428	428	from optionally contributing in part or in whole to the
429	429	premium of an individual volunteer firefighter.
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459	459	(d) The annual premium paid into the fund is fully
460	460	earned and is nonrefundable.
461	461	(e) If a covered participant leaves eligible
462	462	employment or retires during a covered year, the employer is
463	463	not entitled to any refund of any portion of the paid premium
464	464	for that calendar year. If a volunteer participant
465	465	discontinues service with a volunteer fire department during a
466	466	covered year, the volunteer participant, or in the case of a
467	467	volunteer fire department that has paid or contributed to the
468	468	volunteer participant's premium, is not entitled to any refund
469	469	of any portion of the paid premium for that calendar year.
470	470	(f) If a covered participant transfers to other
471	471	eligible employment with a different employer, the new
472	472	employer shall not be required to pay the premium on that
473	473	participant until the current calendar year's coverage expires
474	474	with the previous employer.
475	475	(g) A covered participant or volunteer participant
476	476	is no longer entitled to any benefits if he or she resigns, is
477	477	terminated, or retires from eligible employment with an
478	478	employer. A volunteer participant is no longer entitled to any
479	479	benefits if he or she is no longer associated with a volunteer
480	480	fire department or is otherwise ineligible to serve as a
481	481	volunteer firefighter.
482	482	(h) In the event a covered participant is employed
483	483	by multiple eligible employers simultaneously, the primary
484	484	employer shall be responsible for the requirements of this
485	485	act. The primary employer shall be identified as the employer
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514	514	who provides primary health insurance benefits to the
515	515	participant.
516	516	Section 5.(a) Any monies received by a covered
517	517	participant or volunteer participant pursuant to this act, to
518	518	any extent the amounts are included in the federal adjusted
519	519	gross income of the taxpayer, shall be excluded from taxable
520	520	income for state income tax purposes.
521	521	(b) Any monies received by the fund as premiums for
522	522	the coverage provided by this act may not be subject to any
523	523	premium taxes otherwise required by law.
524	524	(c) The reimbursement and benefits requirements of
525	525	this act shall not apply to PTSD resulting from events
526	526	occurring prior to the effective date of this act.
527	527	Section 6.The purpose or effect of this bill would
528	528	be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds
529	529	within the meaning of Section 111.05 of the Constitution of
530	530	Alabama of 2022. If this bill is not enacted by a 2/3 vote, it
531	531	will not become effective with regard to a local entity unless
532	532	approved by the local entity or until, and only as long as,
533	533	the Legislature appropriates funds or provides for a local
534	534	source of revenue.
535	535	Section 7.This act shall become effective January
536	536	1, 2024, following its passage and approval by the Governor,
537	537	or its otherwise becoming law.
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