Massachusetts § 100A - Killed-in-line-of-duty benefits

§ 100A. Killed-in-line-of-duty benefits

Section 100A. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or any other general or special law to the contrary, there shall be paid a killed in the line of duty benefit, to be administered and paid for, subject to appropriation, by the state board of retirement.

(b) The state board of retirement shall adopt regulations to administer said benefit.

(c) The killed in the line of duty benefit shall be a 1–time payment of $300,000 to the family of a deceased public safety employee who, while in the performance of his duties and as a result of incident, accident or violence, was killed or sustained injuries which were the direct and proximate cause of his death. As used in this section, the words ''deceased public safety employee'' shall mean any firefighter, any call, volunteer, auxiliary, intermittent or reserve firefighter, any call, volunteer, auxiliary, intermittent or reserve emergency medical services provider who is a member of a police or fire department and who is not subject to chapter 152, any police officer, any auxiliary, intermittent, special, part-time or reserve police officer, any police officer in the employ of a public institution of higher education under section 5 of chapter 15A, any public prosecutor, any municipal or public emergency medical technician and a correction officer who was killed in the line of duty or who sustained injuries that were the direct and proximate cause of his death.

(d) The $300,000 killed in the line of duty benefit shall be in addition to amounts payable under section 100 and shall be payable to the family of the deceased public safety employee in a manner determined by the state board of retirement. As used in this section, the word ''family'' shall mean the surviving spouse of such deceased public safety employee or, if there is no surviving spouse, the child or children of such deceased public safety employee or, if there is no surviving child, the parent of such deceased public safety employee. The board, at its discretion, may purchase life insurance for the purpose of paying this benefit.

(e) The presumptions created by sections 94, 94A and 94B shall not apply to eligibility for the $300,000 killed in the line of duty benefit.

(f) The $300,000 killed in the line of duty benefit shall not be taxable by the commonwealth.

(g) This section shall apply in the case of the death of a public prosecutor occurring on or after January 1, 1995.

(h) This section shall apply to members of the Massachusetts military reservation fire department killed in the line of duty.

(i) This section shall apply to members of the 104th fighter wing fire department killed in the line of duty.

(j) This section shall apply to members of the Devens fire department, established pursuant to chapter 498 of the acts of 1993, who are killed in the line of duty.