To provide that a grantee may not receive the full amount of a block grant under the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program unless that grantee adopts a health standard establishing a legal presumption that heart, lung, and respiratory disease are occupational diseases for public safety officers and to provide that such diseases are presumed to be sustained in the performance of duty, and for other purposes.

November 20, 2003

Mr. STUPAK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

To provide that a grantee may not receive the full amount of a block grant under the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program unless that grantee adopts a health standard establishing a legal presumption that heart, lung, and respiratory disease are occupational diseases for public safety officers and to provide that such diseases are presumed to be sustained in the performance of duty, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Law Enforcement Officers' Health Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--

(1) the cumulative stress of a career in law enforcement contributes significantly to the development of heart and lung disease of law enforcement officers, giving rise to a presumption that such stress caused such diseases;

(2) hearings to determine an officer's entitlement to this presumption usually result in the granting of such presumption;

(3) such hearings are expensive, create an adversarial relationship between the public employer and employee, and cause delays in receiving critical treatment; and

(4) the creation of such a presumption as a national health standard will result in more efficient delivery of law enforcement services nationwide.

SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS.

(a) IN GENERAL- An entity that fails to have in effect throughout the jurisdiction of that entity the policy described in subsection (b) shall not receive 10 percent of the funds that would otherwise be allocated to that entity under the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant Program of the Department of Justice, as described in appropriations Acts.

(b) POLICY REQUIRED- The policy referred to in subsection (a) is a policy that, for each public safety officer (as defined in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b)) employed in the jurisdiction of that entity, the following shall apply:

(1) If that officer was so employed for a period of at least 5 years and, prior to the time of initial employment, passed a physical exam that revealed no evidence of heart, lung, or respiratory disease, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that any heart, lung, or respiratory disease resulting in the death or permanent incapacity of that officer is service connected.

(2) If any heart, lung, or respiratory disease resulting in the death or permanent incapacity of that officer is service connected, that officer shall be entitled to all benefits, including retirement, disability or workers compensation benefits, provided to other public employees in the jurisdiction of that entity for service-connected heart, lung, or respiratory disease.

(c) REALLOCATION- Any funds that are not allocated for failure to comply with this Act shall be reallocated to entities that comply with this Act.

SEC. 4. FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.

Chapter 81 of title 5 of the United States Code is amended as follows:

(1) By inserting the following new section after section 8143A:

`SEC. 8143B. FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.

`In the case of each employee who is a public safety officer (as defined in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b)) there shall be a rebuttable presumption for purposes of this subchapter that any heart, lung, or respiratory disease resulting in the death or permanent incapacity of that officer was sustained in the performance of duty if such officer--

`(1) was so employed for a period of at least 5 years, and

`(2) prior to the time of initial employment, passed a physical exam that revealed no evidence of heart, lung, or respiratory disease.'

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

The provisions of section 3 of this Act shall apply to any funds allocated for any fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2005.

END