House File 308 - Introduced



                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  T. TAYLOR


    Passed House,  Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act concerning the Iowa public employees retirement system by
  2    establishing a presumption that cancer is work=related for
  3    purposes of disability benefits for protection occupation
  4    members who are employed as fire fighters and by increasing
  5    the contribution rate for fire fighters.
  6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  7 TLSB 2193YH 83
  8 ec/sc/8

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 97B.49B, subsection 3, paragraph b,
  1  2 Code 2009, is amended by adding the following new
  1  3 subparagraph:
  1  4    NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.  (8)  For the fiscal year commencing July
  1  5 1, 2009, and each succeeding fiscal year, each employer of
  1  6 members covered under this section shall deduct from the wages
  1  7 of each member who is employed as a fire fighter in a
  1  8 protection occupation an additional contribution in the amount
  1  9 of five hundredths percent.
  1 10    Sec. 2.  Section 97B.50A, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code
  1 11 2009, is amended to read as follows:
  1 12    c.  Disease under this subsection shall mean heart disease
  1 13 or any disease of the lungs or respiratory tract and shall be
  1 14 presumed to have been contracted while on active duty as a
  1 15 result of strain, exposure, or the inhalation of noxious
  1 16 fumes, poison, or gases.  For a member who is employed as a
  1 17 fire fighter in a protection occupation as provided in section
  1 18 97B.49B, disease under this subsection shall also mean cancer
  1 19 which shall also be presumed to have been contracted while on
  1 20 active duty.  However, if a person's special service
  1 21 membership in the retirement system first commenced on or
  1 22 after July 1, 2000, and the heart disease or, disease of the
  1 23 lungs or respiratory tract, or cancer would not exist, but for
  1 24 a medical condition that was known to exist on the date that
  1 25 special service membership commenced, the presumption
  1 26 established in this paragraph shall not apply.
  1 27                           EXPLANATION
  1 28    This bill provides that cancer contracted by a special
  1 29 service member of the Iowa public employees retirement system
  1 30 (IPERS) who is employed as a fire fighter in a protection
  1 31 occupation is presumed to be a disease contracted while on
  1 32 active duty due to the job for purposes of establishing a
  1 33 disability pension.  The bill also provides that the
  1 34 presumption will not apply to fire fighter members who joined
  1 35 the retirement system after July 1, 2000, in which the cancer
  2  1 would not have existed but for a medical condition that was
  2  2 known on the date the member joined.
  2  3    The bill also provides that fire fighter members of IPERS
  2  4 in a protection occupation shall pay an additional
  2  5 contribution from their wages to the system at the rate of .05
  2  6 percent.
  2  7    The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
  2  8 section 25B.3. The state mandate funding requirement in Code
  2  9 section 25B.2, however, does not apply to public employee
  2 10 retirement systems.
  2 11 LSB 2193YH 83
  2 12 ec/sc/8