P 49                                       First Engrossed (ntc)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       201749e1
       
    1                        A proposal to create                       
    2         a new section in Article X of the State Constitution
    3         to establish the rights to certain death benefits to
    4         the survivors of specified first responders and
    5         military members.
    6          
    7  Be It Proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission of
    8  Florida:
    9  
   10         A new section is added to Article X of the State
   11  Constitution to read:
   12                              ARTICLE X                            
   13                            MISCELLANEOUS                          
   14         Death benefits for survivors of first responders and
   15  military members.—
   16         (a) A death benefit shall be paid by the employing agency
   17  when a firefighter; a paramedic; an emergency medical
   18  technician; a law enforcement, correctional, or correctional
   19  probation officer; or a member of the Florida National Guard,
   20  while engaged in the performance of their official duties, is:
   21         (1) Accidentally killed or receives accidental bodily
   22  injury which results in the loss of the individual’s life,
   23  provided that such killing is not the result of suicide and that
   24  such bodily injury is not intentionally self-inflicted; or
   25         (2) Unlawfully and intentionally killed or dies as a result
   26  of such unlawful and intentional act or is killed during active
   27  duty.
   28         (b) A death benefit shall be paid by funds from general
   29  revenue when an active duty member of the United States Armed
   30  Forces is:
   31         (1) Accidentally killed or receives accidental bodily
   32  injury which results in the loss of the individual’s life,
   33  provided that such killing is not the result of suicide and that
   34  such bodily injury is not intentionally self-inflicted; or
   35         (2) Unlawfully and intentionally killed or dies as a result
   36  of such unlawful and intentional act or is killed during active
   37  duty.
   38         (c) An eligible first responder must have been working for
   39  the State of Florida or any of its political subdivisions or
   40  agencies at the time of death. An eligible military member must
   41  have been a resident of this state or whose duty post was within
   42  the State of Florida at the time of death.
   43         (d) Payments authorized under subsections (a) and (b),
   44  regardless of whether secured by insurance, shall be made to the
   45  beneficiary that is designated by such first responder or
   46  military member through a written designation signed by the
   47  first responder or military member and delivered to the
   48  employing agency during the first responder or military member’s
   49  lifetime. If no such designation is made, the payment shall be
   50  made to the first responder’s or military member’s surviving
   51  child or children and spouse in equal portions, and if there is
   52  no surviving child or spouse, then to the first responder’s or
   53  military member’s parent or parents. If a beneficiary is not
   54  designated and there is no surviving child, spouse, or parent,
   55  the payment shall be made to the first responder or military
   56  member’s estate.
   57         (e) Payments that are made pursuant to subsections (a)
   58  through (d) are in addition to any workers’ compensation or
   59  pension benefits and are exempt from the claims and demands of
   60  creditors of the first responder or military member.
   61         (f) If a firefighter; a paramedic; an emergency medical
   62  technician; a law enforcement, correctional, or correctional
   63  probation officer; or an active duty member of the United States
   64  Armed Forces or Florida National Guard is accidentally killed as
   65  specified in paragraphs (a)(1) and (b)(1), or unlawfully and
   66  intentionally killed as specified in paragraphs (a)(2) and
   67  (b)(2), the state shall waive certain educational expenses that
   68  the child or spouse of the deceased first responder or military
   69  member incurs while obtaining a career certificate, an
   70  undergraduate education, or a postgraduate education. The amount
   71  waived by the state shall be an amount equal to the cost of
   72  tuition and matriculation and registration fees for a total of
   73  120 credit hours. The child or spouse may attend a state career
   74  center, a Florida College System institution, or a state
   75  university. The child or spouse may attend any or all of the
   76  institutions specified in this subsection, on either a full-time
   77  or part-time basis. The benefits provided to a child under this
   78  subsection continue until the child’s 25th birthday. The
   79  benefits provided to a spouse under this subsection must
   80  commence within 5 years after the death occurs, and entitlement
   81  thereto shall continue until the tenth anniversary of that
   82  death.
   83         (g) The legislature may implement this amendment by general
   84  law.
   85         (h) This amendment becomes effective on July 1, 2019.