Legislation

Public Safety Officers Benefits (PSOB) Act
  • Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Act of 1976, Part J. Original act detailing the provision of death benefits. Introduced to the 94th Congress, September 29,
    1976.
  • Federal Register, May 6, 1977, Part II. The rules adopted by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration for implementation of the PSOB Act are
    written.
  • Federal Register, Vol. 43, No. 180 – September 15, 1978. Results of meeting detailing the contribution of carbon monoxide and heart disease in the deaths of
    public safety officers.
  • Federal Register, Vol. 45, No. 51 – March 13, 1980. Amendments to the hearing and appeal provisions of the regulations.
  • Federal Register, Vol. 50, No. 128, July 3, 1985. An amendment to the PSOB Act which transfers the administration of the Act from the LEAA to the Bureau of
    Justice Assistance. In addition, federal public safety officers are now covered under the act and “gross negligence” and “intoxication” standards are defined within this amendment.
  • Federal Register, Vol. 53, No. 50, March 15, 1988. Amendment to the PSOB Act which includes provision of death benefit coverage to members of public rescue squads or ambulance crews. Also an explanation of EMS coverage in correspondence from the U.S. Department of Justice.
  • Federal Register, Vol. 57, No. 113, June 11, 1992. Amendment to the PSOB Act to include coverage for disability benefits. Such disability is defined as permanent and total as a direct result of a catastrophic personal injury sustained in the line of duty which will prevent an individual from performing any gainful work.
  • Public Law 107-37 – September 18, 2001 [115 STAT. 219]. Amendment to the PSOB Act to provide for the expedited payment of PSOB benefits for a public
    safety officer who was killed or suffered a catastrophic injury producing permanent and total disability as a direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty in connection with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
  • Public Law 107-56 – October 26, 2001 [115 STAT. 369]. Amendment to the PSOB Act to provide for the expedited payment of PSOB benefits for a public safety officer who was killed or suffered a catastrophic injury producing permanent and total disability as a direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty in connection with prevention, investigation, rescue or recovery efforts related to any terrorist attack. Increases the PSOB program benefit payment to $250,000 retroactive to January 1, 2001.
  • Public Law 107-196 – June 24, 2002 [116 STAT. 719]. Amendment to the PSOB Act to include coverage of fire chaplains and allows all beneficiaries of fallen fire fighters, not just parents, spouses or children to receive the federal compensation.
  • Public Law 108-182 – December 15, 2003 [117 STAT. 2649]. Amendment to the PSOB Act to ensure that a public safety officer who suffers a fatal heart attack or stroke while on duty shall be presumed to have died in the line of duty for purposes of public safety officer survivor benefits. The legislation was entitled the Hometown Heroes Act.
  • Public Law 109-162 – January 5, 2006 [119 STAT. 2960, 3120]. Amendment to the PSOB Act contained in the DOJ Reauthorization Act and contains several clarifying and conforming changes. New definitions included the term ‘‘member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew’’ that is now defined as ‘‘an officially recognized or designated public employee member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew.’’ It also amended the PSOB Act to ensure that the pre-existing statutory limitation on payments to non-civilians referred to the individual who was injured or killed, and not to any potential beneficiaries. Finally, this legislation amended certain provisions of the PSOB Act regarding designation of beneficiaries when the officer dies without a spouse or eligible children and removed the need for a one-year waiting period to ensure payment to the beneficiary of the officer’s ‘‘most recently executed life insurance policy.’’
  • Federal Register, Vol. 71, No. 154, August 10, 2006. The new regulations for administration of all PSOB benefits that incorporated all prior amendments to the original regulations and added the provisions of the Hometown Heroes Act. This document addresses the PSOB Act and regulations in five parts. The first part of this document describes the structure and background of the PSOB Program and aspects of the history of its administration. The second part covers the recent changes to the PSOB Act contained in Public Law 109-162. The third part addresses the comments received by BJA that relate to the proposed provisions implementing the Hometown Heroes Act, and explains the changes being made in the final rule. The fourth part is a specific discussion of the terms ‘‘line of duty’’ and ‘‘authorized commuting.” The last part addresses the remainder of the comments in a section-by-section analysis, indicating where changes to provisions were made, or where BJA determined no changes were necessary.
  • Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 133, July 10, 2008. The regulations for the administration of PSOB benefits were proposed for modification in July of 2008. The proposed changes reflected current program practices, addressed substantive and procedural shortcomings in the rule that implemented the Hometown Heroes and Survivors Benefit Act, incorporated two policy memoranda related to non-routine stressful or strenuous physical activity and competent medical evidence to the contrary, and made other housekeeping changes. New or revised definitions were incorporated for authorized commuting, biological (as pertains to children), heart attack, injury, line of duty activity, voluntary intoxication at the time of death or catastrophic injury, and other terms. The proposed rule also made changes to evidentiary rules related to the submission of claims. Public safety agencies were invited to comment on the proposed changes and the IAFF made a submittal.
  • Federal Register, Vol. 73, No. 243, December 17, 2008. The regulations were published as a final rule with an effective date of January 16, 2009. A number of changes were made to the proposal and incorporated into the final rule including changes in the definition of heart attack, authorized commuting, and training exercises. These most current PSOB regulations are in the attached Federal Register and begin on page 76,528.