| Chapter 056 |
| 2026 -- H 7149 Enacted 06/10/2026 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- RELIEF OF INJURED AND DECEASED FIRE FIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS |
Introduced By: Representatives Read, Noret, Hull, Fascia, O'Brien, Casey, and Casimiro |
| Date Introduced: January 16, 2026 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 45-19-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-19 entitled "Relief of |
| Injured and Deceased Fire Fighters and Police Officers" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 45-19-1. Salary payment during line of duty illness or injury. |
| (a)(1) Whenever any police officer of the Rhode Island airport corporation or whenever |
| any police officer, firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or |
| deputy fire marshal of any city, town, fire district, or the state of Rhode Island is wholly or partially |
| incapacitated by reason of injuries received or sickness contracted in the performance of their duties |
| or due to their rendering of emergency assistance within the physical boundaries of the state of |
| Rhode Island at any occurrence involving the protection or rescue of human life which necessitates |
| that they respond in a professional capacity when they would normally be considered by their |
| employer to be officially off-duty, the respective city, town, fire district, state of Rhode Island, or |
| Rhode Island airport corporation by which the police officer, firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, |
| fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal, is employed, shall, during the period |
| of the incapacity, pay the police officer, firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief |
| deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal, the salary or wage and benefits to which the police |
| officer, firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire |
| marshal, would be entitled had he or she not been incapacitated, and shall pay the medical, surgical, |
| dental, optical, or other attendance, or treatment, nurses, and hospital services, medicines, crutches, |
| and apparatus for the necessary period, except that if any city, town, fire district, the state of Rhode |
| Island, or Rhode Island airport corporation provides the police officer, firefighter, crash rescue |
| crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal, with insurance coverage |
| for the related treatment, services, or equipment, then the city, town, fire district, the state of Rhode |
| Island, or Rhode Island airport corporation is only obligated to pay the difference between the |
| maximum amount allowable under the insurance coverage and the actual cost of the treatment, |
| service, or equipment. In addition, the cities, towns, fire districts, the state of Rhode Island, or |
| Rhode Island airport corporation shall pay all similar expenses incurred by a member who has been |
| placed on a disability pension and suffers a recurrence of the injury or illness that dictated his or |
| her disability retirement, subject to the provisions of subsection (j) herein. |
| (2) A police officer or firefighter diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (as |
| described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, current edition, published |
| by the American Psychiatric Association) by an individual who holds the title of an independent |
| licensed mental health professional with a master’s degree, related to the exposure of potentially |
| traumatic events, resulting from their acting within the course of their employment or from the |
| rendering of emergency assistance in the state of Rhode Island, at any occurrence involving the |
| protection or the rescue of human life while off-duty, as set forth in subsection (h) of this section, |
| shall be presumed to have sustained an injury in the line of duty, as that term is used in subsection |
| (a)(1) of this section, unless the contrary is proven by a fair preponderance of the evidence that the |
| post-traumatic stress injury/PTSD is not related to their job as a police officer or firefighter. The |
| benefits provided for under this section shall not be extended to a police officer or firefighter, if |
| their post-traumatic stress injury/PTSD diagnosis arises out of any disciplinary action, work |
| evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, termination, or similar adverse job actions. |
| (b) As used in this section, “police officer” means and includes any chief or other member |
| of the police department of any city or town regularly employed at a fixed salary or wage and any |
| deputy sheriff, member of the fugitive task force, or capitol police officer, permanent |
| environmental police officer or criminal investigator of the department of environmental |
| management, or airport police officer. |
| (c) As used in this section, “firefighter” means and includes any chief or other member of |
| the fire department or rescue personnel of any city, town, or fire district, and any person employed |
| as a member of the fire department of the town of North Smithfield, or fire department or district |
| in any city or town. |
| (d) As used in this section, “crash rescue crewperson” means and includes any chief or |
| other member of the emergency crash rescue section, division of airports, or department of |
| transportation of the state of Rhode Island regularly employed at a fixed salary or wage. |
| (e) As used in this section, “fire marshal,” “chief deputy fire marshal,” and “deputy fire |
| marshal” mean and include the fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, and deputy fire marshals |
| regularly employed by the state of Rhode Island pursuant to the provisions of chapter 28.2 of title |
| 23. |
| (f) Any person employed by the state of Rhode Island, except for sworn employees of the |
| Rhode Island state police, who is otherwise entitled to the benefits of chapter 19 of this title, shall |
| be subject to the provisions of chapters 29 — 38 of title 28 for case management procedures and |
| dispute resolution by the workers’ compensation court, for all petitions filed on or after July 1, |
| 2025, for the following benefit and disability determinations: |
| (1) The nature and status of disability of the injured employee; |
| (2) The nature and location of injury relative to the work incident; |
| (3) Maximum medical improvement (MMI), as it is defined under § 28-33-2(9); |
| (4) All issues of legal and/or medical causation; and |
| (5) The assignment of fees and costs pursuant to the provisions of § 28-35-32. |
| The court may, in its discretion, appoint an impartial medical examiner in accordance with |
| § 28-33-35. The court shall hereby be empowered to enforce all of its orders, decrees, and consent |
| agreements of the parties. |
| (g) In order to receive the benefits provided for under this section for off-duty intervention, |
| a police officer or firefighter must prove to their employer that they had reasonable grounds to |
| believe that there was an emergency that required an immediate need for their assistance for the |
| protection or rescue of human life. |
| (h) Any claims to the benefits provided for under this section resulting from the rendering |
| of emergency assistance in the state of Rhode Island at any occurrence involving the protection or |
| rescue of human life while off-duty, shall first require those covered by this section to submit a |
| sworn declaration to their employer attesting to the date, time, place, and nature of the event |
| involving the protection or rescue of human life causing the professional assistance to be rendered |
| and the cause and nature of any injuries sustained in the protection or rescue of human life. Sworn |
| declarations shall also be required from any available witness to the alleged emergency involving |
| the protection or rescue of human life. |
| (i) All declarations required under this section shall contain the following language: |
| “Under penalty of perjury, I declare and affirm that I have examined this declaration, |
| including any accompanying schedules and statements, and that all statements contained herein are |
| true and correct.” |
| (j) Any person, not employed by the state of Rhode Island, receiving injured-on-duty |
| benefits pursuant to this section, and subject to the jurisdiction of the state retirement board for |
| accidental retirement disability, for an injury occurring on or after July 1, 2011, shall apply for an |
| accidental disability retirement allowance from the state retirement board not later than the later of |
| eighteen (18) months after the date of the person’s injury that resulted in the person’s injured-on- |
| duty status or sixty (60) days from the date on which the treating physician certifies that the person |
| has reached maximum medical improvement. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit or alter |
| any and all rights of the parties with respect to independent medical examination or otherwise, as |
| set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. Notwithstanding the forgoing, any |
| person receiving injured-on-duty benefits as the result of a static and incapacitating injury whose |
| permanent nature is readily obvious and ascertainable shall be required to apply for an accidental |
| disability retirement allowance within sixty (60) days from the date on which the treating physician |
| certifies that the person’s injury is permanent, or sixty (60) days from the date on which the |
| determination of permanency is made in accordance with the independent medical examination |
| procedures as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. |
| (1) If a person with injured-on-duty status fails to apply for an accidental disability |
| retirement allowance from the state retirement board within the time frame set forth above, that |
| person’s injured-on-duty payment shall terminate. Further, any person suffering a static and |
| incapacitating injury as set forth in subsection (j) above and who fails to apply for an accidental |
| disability benefit allowance as set forth in subsection (j) shall have their injured-on-duty payment |
| terminated. |
| (2) A person who so applies shall continue to receive injured-on-duty payments, and the |
| right to continue to receive IOD payments of a person who so applies shall terminate in the event |
| of a final ruling of the workers’ compensation court allowing accidental disability benefits. Nothing |
| herein shall be construed to limit or alter any and all rights of the parties with respect to independent |
| medical examination or otherwise, as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. |
| (k) Any person employed by the state of Rhode Island who is currently receiving injured- |
| on-duty benefits or any person employed by the state of Rhode Island who in the future is entitled |
| to injured-on-duty benefits pursuant to this chapter, and subject to the jurisdiction of the state |
| retirement board for accidental retirement disability, shall apply for an accidental disability |
| retirement allowance from the state retirement board the later of eighteen (18) months after the date |
| of the person’s injury that resulted in the person’s injured-on-duty status or sixty (60) days from |
| the date on which the treating physician certifies that the person has reached maximum medical |
| improvement. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit or alter any and all rights of the parties |
| with respect to independent medical examination or otherwise, as set forth in the applicable |
| collective bargaining agreement. Notwithstanding the forgoing, any person receiving injured-on- |
| duty benefits as the result of a static and incapacitating injury whose permanent nature is readily |
| obvious and ascertainable shall be required to apply for an accidental disability retirement |
| allowance within sixty (60) days from the date on which a treating physician or an independent |
| medical examiner certifies that the person’s injury is permanent, or sixty (60) days from the date |
| on which such determination of permanency is made in accordance with the independent medical |
| examination procedures as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. |
| (1) If a person employed by the state of Rhode Island with injured-on-duty status fails to |
| apply for an accidental disability retirement allowance from the state retirement board within the |
| time frame set forth in subsection (k) above, that person’s injured-on-duty payment shall terminate. |
| Further, any person employed by the state of Rhode Island suffering a static and incapacitating |
| injury as set forth in subsection (k) above and who fails to apply for an accidental disability benefit |
| allowance as set forth in subsection (k) shall have his or her injured-on-duty payment terminated. |
| (2) A person employed by the state of Rhode Island who so applies shall continue to receive |
| injured-on-duty payments, and the right to continue to receive injured-on-duty payments of a |
| person who so applies shall terminate upon final adjudication by the state retirement board |
| approving or denying either ordinary or accidental disability payments and, notwithstanding § 45- |
| 31.2-9, this termination of injured-on-duty benefits shall not be stayed. |
| (3)(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all persons employed by the state of |
| Rhode Island entitled to benefits under this section who were injured prior to July 1, 2019, and who |
| have been receiving injured-on-duty benefits pursuant to this section for a period of eighteen (18) |
| months or longer as of July 1, 2019, shall have up to ninety (90) days from July 1, 2019, to apply |
| for an accidental disability retirement benefit allowance. Any person employed by the state of |
| Rhode Island receiving injured-on-duty benefits for a period less than eighteen (18) months as of |
| July 1, 2019, shall apply for an accidental disability retirement benefit allowance within eighteen |
| (18) months of the date of injury that resulted in the person receiving injured-on-duty pay; provided |
| however, said person shall have a minimum of ninety (90) days to apply. |
| Applications for disability retirement received by the state retirement board by any person |
| employed by the Statestate of Rhode Island receiving injured-on-duty payments that shall be |
| deemed untimely pursuant to § 36-10-14(b) shall have ninety (90) days from July 1, 2019, to apply |
| for an accidental disability retirement benefit allowance. Failure to apply for an accidental disability |
| retirement benefit allowance within the timeframe set forth herein shall result in the termination of |
| injured-on-duty benefits. |
| (ii) Any person employed by the state of Rhode Island receiving injured-on-duty payments |
| who has been issued a final adjudication of the state retirement board on an application for an |
| ordinary or accidental disability benefit, either approving or denying the application, shall have his |
| or her theirinjured-on-duty payments terminated. |
| (4) If awarded an accidental disability pension, any person employed by the state of Rhode |
| Island covered under this section shall receive benefits consistent with § 36-10-15. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC003878 |
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