SB 310 — AN ACT relating to lump-sum line of duty death payments.

Summary

Amend KRS 61.315 to define "public safety officer," "public safety officer in training," "retired public safety officer" and "post-service act in the line of duty"; provide a lump-sum payment of $80,000 to the families of public safety officers in training who die in the line of duty and retired public safety officers who die as a result of an attack related to their prior service as a public safety officer; make technical and clerical changes; provide that the benefit is effective for deaths occurring on or after the effective date of the Act, except that provisions impacting retired public safety officers shall be retroactive to deaths occuring on or after August 1, 2012, and provisions impacting public safety officers in training shall be retroactive to deaths occuring on or after November 1, 2024; RETROACTIVE.

Bill Text

• Introduced View text Current pdf

Compared against the Kentucky Revised Statutes as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill expands the definition of 'public safety officer' and establishes benefits for their families while amending certain provisions regarding death benefits for various public safety roles.

• KRS 61.315

  and → , and

  The addition of a comma clarifies the list of defined roles.

• KRS 61.315

  [and] → ;

  The removal of 'and' at the end of the 'firefighter' definition allows for the continuation of definitions.

• KRS 61.315

  Emergency medical services personnel → Public safety officer

  The inclusion of 'public safety officer' now allows spouses of those individuals to receive death benefits.

• KRS 61.315

  spouse of any police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff, corrections employee with the power of a peace officer pursuant to KRS 196.037, any metropolitan or urban-county correctional officer with the power of a peace officer pursuant to KRS 446.010, any jailer or deputy jailer, any auxiliary police officer appointed pursuant to KRS 95.445, any police officer of a public institution of postsecondary education appointed pursuant to KRS 164.950, any school resource officer as defined in KRS 158.441, or any citation or safety officer appointed pursuant to KRS 83A.087 and 83A.088, firefighter → public safety officer, public safety officer in training

  The bill allows for the inclusion of 'public safety officer in training' in the eligibility for benefits.

• KRS 61.315

  who names Kentucky as home of record for military purposes, whose death occurs on or after July 1, 2002, → whose death occurs as a direct result of an act in the line of duty, or the spouse of any retired public safety officer whose death occurs as a direct result of a post-service act in the line of duty,

  Eligibility for death benefits is now extended to spouses of retired public safety officers for post-service actions.

• KRS 61.315

  The spouse of any emergency medical services personnel whose death occurs on or after November 1, 2015, as a direct result of an act in the line of duty shall receive a lump-sum payment of eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) if there are no surviving children, which sum shall be paid by the State Treasurer from the general fund of the State Treasury. → [The spouse of any emergency medical services personnel whose death occurs on or after November 1, 2015, as a direct result of an act in the line of duty shall receive a lump-sum payment of eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) if there are no surviving children, which sum shall be paid by the State Treasurer from the general fund of the State Treasury. ]

  The specification regarding benefits for emergency medical services personnel has been removed.

Action History

1. March 02, 2026

   to Committee on Committees (S)

2. March 02, 2026

   introduced in Senate

Sponsors

• Danny Carroll · Primary

Subjects