HB 3: "An Act relating to a death benefit for health insurance payable to the widows, widowers, and children of police officers, firefighters, or emergency medical technicians who die because of work-related injuries."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 3 01 "An Act relating to a death benefit for health insurance payable to the widows, 02 widowers, and children of police officers, firefighters, or emergency medical technicians 03 who die because of work-related injuries." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 23.30.215(a) is amended to read: 06 (a) If the injury causes death, the compensation is known as a death benefit 07 and is payable in the following amounts to or for the benefit of the following persons: 08 (1) reasonable and necessary funeral expenses not exceeding $10,000; 09 (2) if there is a widow or widower or a child or children of the 10 deceased, the following percentages of the spendable weekly wages of the deceased: 11 (A) 80 percent for the widow or widower with no children; 12 (B) 50 percent for the widow or widower with one child and 40 13 percent for the child; 14 (C) 30 percent for the widow or widower with two or more
01 children and 70 percent divided equally among the children; 02 (D) 100 percent for an only child when there is no widow or 03 widower; 04 (E) 100 percent, divided equally, if there are two or more 05 children and no widow or widower; 06 (3) if the widow or widower remarries, the widow or widower is 07 entitled to be paid in one sum an amount equal to the compensation to which the 08 widow or widower would otherwise be entitled in the two years commencing on the 09 date of remarriage as full and final settlement of all sums due the widow or widower; 10 (4) if there is no widow or widower or child or children, then for the 11 support of father, mother, grandchildren, brothers, and sisters, if dependent upon the 12 deceased at the time of injury, 42 percent of the spendable weekly wage of the 13 deceased to such beneficiaries, share and share alike, not to exceed $20,000 in the 14 aggregate; 15 (5) $5,000 to a surviving widow or widower, or equally divided among 16 surviving children of the deceased if there is no widow or widower; 17 (6) for a surviving widow, widower, child, or children of a peace 18 officer, firefighter, or emergency medical technician, the cost of health insurance 19 premiums to cover the widow, widower, child, or children with health insurance 20 that is the same or substantially the same as the health insurance the employer 21 provided to the deceased on the date of the death for one year beginning on the 22 later of 23 (A) the day after the date of death; or 24 (B) the date the employer-provided health insurance 25 terminates. 26 * Sec. 2. AS 23.30.215 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 27 (j) In this section, 28 (1) "emergency medical technician" means 29 (A) a volunteer emergency medical technician; 30 (B) an employee certified under AS 18.08 as an emergency 31 medical technician and employed to provide emergency medical services;
01 (2) "firefighter" means 02 (A) a person employed by a municipal fire department or who 03 is a member of a volunteer fire department registered with the state fire 04 marshal, or a person registered for purposes of workers' compensation with the 05 state fire marshal as a member of a volunteer fire department; 06 (B) a volunteer firefighter; 07 (3) "police officer" means 08 (A) an employee of the state or a municipal police department 09 with the authority to arrest and issue citations; detain a person taken into 10 custody until that person can be arraigned before a judge or magistrate; 11 conduct investigations of violations of and enforce criminal laws, regulations, 12 and traffic laws; search with or without a warrant persons, dwellings, and other 13 forms of property for evidence of a crime; and take other action consistent with 14 exercise of these enumerated powers when necessary to maintain the public 15 peace; 16 (B) an officer or employee of the Department of Transportation 17 and Public Facilities who is stationed at an international airport and has the 18 general police powers authorized under AS 02.15.230(a); 19 (C) a University of Alaska public safety officer with the 20 general police powers authorized under AS 14.40.043; 21 (D) a volunteer police officer.