An Act amending the act of June 28, 1935 (P.L.477, No.193), referred to as the Enforcement Officer Disability Benefits Law, further providing for disability benefits and for definitions.

PRINTER'S NO. 1780
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 1521
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, PROBST, HILL-EVANS, McNEILL,
SANCHEZ, HARKINS, MAYES, BRENNAN, OTTEN, DELLOSO, RIVERA AND
NEILSON, MAY 29, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, MAY 30, 2025
AN ACT
Amending the act of June 28, 1935 (P.L.477, No.193), entitled
"An act providing for the payment of the salary, medical and
hospital expenses of certain employes of State and local
government who are injured or contract certain diseases in
the performance of their duty; and providing that absence
during such injury shall not reduce any usual sick leave
period," further providing for disability benefits and for
definitions.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1(a) and (b) of the act of June 28, 1935
(P.L.477, No.193), referred to as the Enforcement Officer
Disability Benefits Law, are amended to read:
Section 1. (a) Be it enacted, &c., That:
(1) any member of the State Police Force;
(2) any enforcement officer or investigator employed by the
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board;
(3) the parole agents employed by the Department of
Corrections;
(3.1) probation officers employed by a participating county;
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(4) Capitol Police officers;
(4.1) campus police officers employed by a participating
university;
(5) correction employes employed by the Department of
Corrections, whose principal duty is the care, custody and
control of inmates;
(5.1) commissioned police officers employed by the
Department of Corrections, Bureau of Investigations and
Intelligence;
(6) psychiatric security aides employed by the Department of
Human Services and the Department of Corrections, whose
principal duty is the care, custody, and control of the
criminally insane;
(7) drug enforcement agents of the Office of Attorney
General whose principal duty is the enforcement of the drug laws
of the Commonwealth;
(8) special agents of the Office of Attorney General whose
principal duty is the enforcement of the criminal laws of the
Commonwealth;
(9) any member of the Delaware River Port Authority Police;
(10) any policeman, fireman or park guard of any county,
city, borough, town or township;
(10.1) firemen employed by the Commonwealth;
(11) any sheriff or deputy sheriff;
(12) any enforcement officer or investigator of the
Pennsylvania Game Commission or the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
Commission;
(13) DCNR Rangers, DCNR Ranger Supervisors, DCNR Ranger
Operations Specialists, DCNR Ranger Trainees and State Park
Officers employed by the Department of Conservation and Natural
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Resources;
(14) members of the Fort Indiantown Gap Police;
(15) enforcement officers, as defined in 71 Pa.C.S. § 5102
(relating to definitions), who are employed by the Office of
State Inspector General and whose principal duties include the
enforcement of the provisions specified in section 506-A of the
act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175), known as "The
Administrative Code of 1929";
(16) transit police officers employed by a participating
transit or port authority;
(17) members of the Allegheny County Housing Authority
Police;
(18) housing police officers employed by a participating
housing authority; [or]
(19) corrections officers or jail guards employed by a
participating county and whose principal duty is the care,
custody and control of inmates; or
(20) public works employes;
who is injured in the performance of his duties including, in
the case of firemen, duty as special fire police, and by reason
thereof is temporarily incapacitated from performing his duties,
shall be paid by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania if an employe
identified under paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (5.1), (6),
(7), (8), (12), (13), (14) [or], (15) or (20) or by the Delaware
River Port Authority if a member of the Delaware River Port
Authority Police or by the participating university if a campus
police officer or by a participating transit or port authority
if a transit police officer or by the Allegheny County Housing
Authority if a member of the Allegheny County Housing Authority
Police or by a participating housing authority if a housing
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police officer or by the county, township or municipality, by
which he is employed, his full rate of salary, as fixed by
ordinance or resolution, until the disability arising therefrom
has ceased. All medical and hospital bills, incurred in
connection with any such injury, shall be paid by the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or by the Delaware River Port
Authority or by the participating university or by the
participating transit or port authority or by the Allegheny
County Housing Authority or by the participating housing
authority or by such county, city, township or municipality.
During the time salary for temporary incapacity shall be paid by
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or by the Delaware River Port
Authority or by the participating university or by the
participating transit or port authority or by the Allegheny
County Housing Authority or by the participating housing
authority or by the county, city, borough, town or township, any
workmen's compensation, received or collected by any such
employe for such period, shall be turned over to the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or to the Delaware River Port
Authority or to the participating university or to the
participating transit or port authority or to the Allegheny
County Housing Authority or to the participating housing
authority or to such county, city, borough, town or township,
and paid into the treasury thereof, and if such payment shall
not be so made by the employe the amount so due the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, the Delaware River Port Authority or the
participating university or the participating transit or port
authority or the Allegheny County Housing Authority or the
participating housing authority or the county, city, borough,
town or township shall be deducted from any salary then or
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thereafter becoming due and owing.
(b) In the case of:
(1) the State Police Force;
(2) enforcement officers and investigators employed by the
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board;
(3) the parole agents employed by the Department of
Corrections;
(3.1) probation officers employed by a participating county;
(4) Capitol Police officers;
(4.1) campus police officers employed by a participating
university;
(5) correction employes employed by the Department of
Corrections, whose principal duty is the care, custody and
control of inmates;
(5.1) commissioned police officers employed by the
Department of Corrections, Bureau of Investigations and
Intelligence;
(6) psychiatric security aides employed by the Department of
Human Services and the Department of Corrections whose principal
duty is the care, custody, and control of the criminally insane;
(7) drug enforcement agents of the Office of Attorney
General whose principal duty is the enforcement of the drug laws
of the Commonwealth;
(8) special agents of the Office of Attorney General whose
principal duty is the enforcement of the criminal laws of the
Commonwealth;
(9) members of the Delaware River Port Authority Police;
(10) salaried policemen and firemen;
(10.1) firemen employed by the Commonwealth;
(11) sheriffs and deputy sheriffs;
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(12) enforcement officers and investigators of the
Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
Commission;
(13) DCNR Rangers, DCNR Ranger Supervisors, DCNR Ranger
Operations Specialists, DCNR Ranger Trainees and State Park
Officers employed by the Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources;
(14) members of the Fort Indiantown Gap Police;
(15) enforcement officers, as defined in 71 Pa.C.S. § 5102,
who are employed by the Office of State Inspector General and
whose principal duties include the enforcement of the provisions
specified in section 506-A of "The Administrative Code of 1929";
(16) transit police officers employed by a participating
transit or port authority;
(17) members of the Allegheny County Housing Authority
Police;
(18) housing police officers employed by a participating
housing authority; [and]
(19) corrections officers or jail guards employed by a
participating county and whose principal duty is the care,
custody and control of inmates; and
(20) public works employes;
who have served for four consecutive years or longer, diseases
of the heart and tuberculosis of the respiratory system,
contracted or incurred by any of them after four years of
continuous service as such, and caused by extreme overexertion
in times of stress or danger or by exposure to heat, smoke,
fumes or gases, arising directly out of the employment shall be
compensable in accordance with the terms hereof; and unless any
such disability shall be compensable under the compensation laws
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as having been caused by accidental injury, such disability
shall be compensable as occupational disease disabilities are
presently compensable under the compensation laws of this
Commonwealth. It shall be presumed that tuberculosis of the
respiratory system contracted or incurred after four consecutive
years of service was contracted or incurred as a direct result
of employment.
* * *
Section 2. Section 2.1 of the act is amended by adding
definitions to read:
Section 2.1. For the purposes of this act, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
* * *
"Public work." Construction, reconstruction, demolition,
alteration or repair work other than maintenance work, done
under contract and paid for in whole or in part out of the funds
of a public body where the estimated cost of the total project
is in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), but
shall not include work performed under a rehabilitation or
manpower training program.
"Public works contractor." A contractor that provides work
under a contract involving a public work.
"Public works employe." An individual hired by a public
works contractor or subcontractor for whom the public works
contractor or subcontractor is required by Federal law to file a
Form W-2 with the Internal Revenue Service.
"Subcontractor." A person, other than a natural person,
regardless of its tier, including, but not limited to, a
staffing agency that performs work for a public works contractor
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under a contract for a public work. The term does not include
persons that are material suppliers for a project.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 120 days.
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