AS Title 39, Chapter 60: Peace Officer and Firefighter Survivors' Fund

Chapter 60. Peace Officer and Firefighter Survivors' Fund. Sec. 39.60.010. Peace officer and firefighter survivors' fund established. (a) The peace officer and firefighter survivors' fund is established in the general fund for the purpose of paying medical insurance premiums for an eligible surviving spouse or dependent child of a peace officer or a firefighter. The department may make premium payments from the fund to the medical insurance provider for the former employer of the deceased peace officer or firefighter. (b) The department shall create the following two separate accounts in the fund: (1) a state employee survivor account that consists of (A) appropriations to the account; (B) donations to the account; and (2) a municipal employee survivor account that consists of (A) municipal contributions under AS 39.60.060 ; (B) appropriations to the account; and (C) donations to the account. (c) The legislature may appropriate money to the fund. Money in the fund does not lapse. (d) Money appropriated to the fund may be spent for the purposes of the fund without further appropriation. (e) Nothing in this section creates a dedicated fund. Sec. 39.60.020. Powers and duties of the commissioner. (a) Annually, not later than December 1, the commissioner shall determine the amount of money sufficient to pay premiums under AS 39.60.030 and the associated administrative costs. (b) The commissioner shall adopt regulations to implement this chapter. Sec. 39.60.030. Payment authorized. The commissioner may use money in the fund to pay medical insurance premiums for a surviving dependent who is eligible under AS 39.60.040 and to pay the department's costs associated with administering the fund. The state employee survivor account and the municipal employee survivor account shall be used to pay premiums for the respective surviving dependents. Sec. 39.60.040. Eligibility of surviving dependents of peace officers and firefighters for medical insurance premiums. (a) A surviving dependent of a deceased peace officer or firefighter may apply to the commissioner for payment of medical insurance premiums for a surviving dependent under AS 39.60.030 . Within the first 60 days after the death of the peace officer or firefighter, the surviving dependent is presumed to be eligible to receive the premium payment. Not later than 30 days after receiving the application, the commissioner shall determine whether the surviving dependent is eligible under (b) of this section. If the commissioner determines the surviving dependent is eligible under (b) of this section, the commissioner shall thereafter determine annually, not later than 30 days before the anniversary of the employee's death, whether the surviving dependent has become ineligible under (c) or (d) of this section or AS 39.60.060 (b). A surviving dependent who has been determined ineligible under (c)(2) or (d)(1) of this section may reapply under this subsection. The commissioner may require a surviving dependent to provide information relevant to a determination under this subsection. (b) A person who is a surviving dependent of an employee who was a peace officer or firefighter is eligible for premium payments under (a) of this section if (1) on the date of the employee's death, the employee was employed by the state or a municipality that has elected to participate under AS 39.60.050 in a permanent, full-time position for which the state or municipality paid or expected to pay the employee for 12 months each year; (2) on the date of the employee's death, the surviving dependent was receiving benefits under the employee's employer-sponsored medical insurance coverage; (3) the proximate cause of the employee's death was a bodily injury sustained or a hazard undergone while in the performance and within the scope of the employee's duties, as determined by the commissioner; and (4) the injury or hazard was not the proximate result of wilful negligence by the employee. (c) Subject to (f) of this section, a surviving spouse becomes ineligible for premium payments under this section on the earlier of the date the surviving spouse (1) has received the premium payments for 10 years; (2) becomes eligible to receive major medical insurance coverage by other means; or (3) becomes eligible for Medicare. (d) Except for a child who is totally and permanently disabled, a child who survives the employee becomes ineligible for premium payments under this section on the earlier of the date the surviving dependent child (1) becomes eligible to receive major medical insurance coverage by other means; or (2) reaches 26 years of age. (e) Subject to AS 39.60.060 (b), the commissioner shall pay the premium for the medical insurance coverage, beginning the first day of the month following the application process and continuing until the first day of the month following the date the commissioner determines the surviving dependent is ineligible under (c) or (d) of this section. Payment of premiums shall be made to the applicable employer medical insurance provider. The medical insurance coverage provided under this section must be the level of coverage existing at the time of the employee's death or, if the level of coverage provided by the employer for active, permanent, full-time employees is amended, the amended level of coverage. (f) A surviving spouse who is a parent of a child eligible for premium payments under this section is not subject to (c)(1) of this section. Sec. 39.60.050. Municipal election to participate in peace officer and firefighter survivors' fund. (a) A municipality may elect to participate in the fund by entering into an agreement with the commissioner that is consistent with AS 39.60.070 . If a municipality elects to participate in the fund, the commissioner shall determine the amount and frequency of the municipality's required contributions to the fund based on the anticipated cost of the municipality's participation, including the department's cost of administering the agreement under this subsection. (b) The commissioner shall administer agreements entered into under (a) of this section. (c) A surviving dependent of a peace officer or firefighter who died while employed by a municipality is not eligible for payments from the fund unless the municipality elects to participate in the fund and is in compliance with an agreement entered into under (a) of this section. Sec. 39.60.060. Eligibility of municipal peace officers and firefighters. (a) Notwithstanding AS 39.60.050 (c), and subject to AS 39.60.040 (b), the commissioner may determine that a surviving dependent of a peace officer or firefighter who was employed by a municipality is eligible for premium payments under AS 39.60.040 (a), if the municipality elects to participate in the fund and is in compliance with the terms of an agreement entered into under AS 39.60.050 (a). (b) If a municipality enters into an agreement under AS 39.60.050 (a) and fails to meet a requirement of that agreement, including a requirement under AS 39.60.070 , the commissioner may determine that a surviving dependent of a peace officer or firefighter employed by a municipality who would otherwise be eligible for payments from the fund under AS 39.60.040 is ineligible and deny payment from the fund until the commissioner determines all requirements of the agreement are satisfied. Sec. 39.60.070. Terms of agreement by municipality to participate in fund. An agreement under AS 39.60.050 (a) for a municipality to participate in the fund must require that the municipality (1) contribute to the fund as determined by the commissioner under AS 39.60.050 (a); (2) is current with contributions required under this section; and (3) complies with applicable regulations adopted by the commissioner. Sec. 39.60.090. Definitions. In this chapter, (1) “child” means a biological child, adopted child, or stepchild of an employee; (2) “commissioner” means the commissioner of public safety or the commissioner's designee; (3) “department” means the Department of Public Safety; (4) “dependent” means a surviving spouse or child of an employee; (5) “firefighter” means an employee of the state or a municipality whose primary duty is to perform fire suppression services; (6) “fund” means the peace officer and firefighter survivors' fund established in AS 39.60.010 ; (7) “peace officer” means (A) an employee of the state or a municipal police department with the authority to arrest and issue citations; detain a person taken into custody until that person can be arraigned before a judge or magistrate; conduct investigations of violations of and enforce criminal laws, regulations, and traffic laws; search with or without a warrant persons, dwellings, and other forms of property for evidence of a crime; and take other action consistent with exercise of these enumerated powers when necessary to maintain the public peace; (B) an officer or employee of the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities who is stationed at an international airport and has been designated to have the general police powers authorized under AS 02.15.230 (a); (C) a University of Alaska public safety officer with general police powers authorized under AS 14.40.043 ; (D) a person appointed by the commissioner of corrections or employed by a correctional facility in this state to perform the duties of a probation officer under AS 33.05 ; (E) a person appointed by the commissioner of corrections, whose primary duty under AS 33.30 is to provide custody, care, security, control, and discipline of persons charged or convicted of offenses against the state or held under authority of state law; (F) a person employed in a correctional facility in the state, whose primary duty is to provide custody, care, security, control, and discipline of persons charged or convicted of offenses or held under authority of law; (8) “surviving spouse” means a person who was married to an employee at the time of the employee's death.