Bill > S1531

This bill proposes to amend Chapter 32 of the General Laws to provide enhanced disability pensions for members of the retirement system who sustain a "violent act injury" while performing their duties. The key provisions include: 1. Defining "violent act injury" as a serious and permanent personal bodily injury sustained as a direct result of a violent attack using a dangerous weapon. 2. Allowing for accidental disability retirement for members who sustain a violent act injury, regardless of when the injury occurred, and requiring the retirement board to find that the member is physically unable to perform the essential duties of their job and that the inability is likely to be permanent. 3. Providing a yearly pension equal to 100% of the member's regular compensation, including benefits and stipends, until their death or mandatory retirement age, at which point the pension would be reduced to 80% of their average annual compensation in the previous 12 months. 4. Entitling the member's spouse to 75% of the member's annual pension, and the member's surviving unmarried children under certain conditions to 75% of the pension, in the event of the member's passing. 5. Requiring the member's retirement board to indemnify the member for all hospital, medical, and other healthcare expenses related to the treatment of injuries sustained as a result of the violent act.

Budget and Finance, Labor and Employment

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/S1531