House File 687 - Reprinted HOUSE FILE 687 BY COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 237) (COMPANION TO SF 505 BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT) (As Amended and Passed by the House April 19, 2023 ) A BILL FOR An Act relating to police officers and fire fighters concerning 1 civil service entrance evaluations and benefits for members 2 of the municipal fire and police retirement system. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 HF 687 (2) 90 ec/rn/md

H.F. 687 Section 1. Section 400.8, subsection 1, Code 2023, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 1. The commission, when necessary under the rules, 3 including minimum and maximum age limits, which shall be 4 prescribed and published in advance by the commission and 5 posted in the city hall, shall hold examinations for the 6 purpose of determining the qualifications of applicants 7 for positions under civil service, other than promotions, 8 which examinations shall be practical in character and shall 9 relate to matters which will fairly test the mental and 10 physical ability of the applicant to discharge the duties of 11 the position to which the applicant seeks appointment. The 12 physical examination and mental health evaluation of applicants 13 for appointment to the positions of police officer , police 14 matron, or fire fighter shall be held in accordance with 15 medical protocols established by the board of trustees of the 16 fire and police retirement system established by section 411.5 17 and shall be conducted in accordance with the directives of 18 the board of trustees. However, the prohibitions of section 19 216.6, subsection 1 , paragraph “d” , regarding tests for the 20 presence of the antibody to the human immunodeficiency virus 21 shall not apply to such examinations. The board of trustees 22 may change the medical protocols at any time the board so 23 determines. In the event of a conflict between the medical 24 protocols established under this section and the minimum 25 entrance requirements of the Iowa law enforcement academy under 26 section 80B.11 , the medical protocols established under this 27 section shall control. The physical examination and mental 28 health evaluation of an applicant for the position of police 29 officer , police matron, or fire fighter shall be conducted 30 after a conditional offer of employment has been made to the 31 applicant. An applicant shall not be discriminated against 32 on the basis of height, weight, sex, or race in determining 33 physical or mental ability of the applicant. Reasonable rules 34 relating to strength, agility, and general health of applicants 35 -1- HF 687 (2) 90 ec/rn/md 1/ 9

H.F. 687 shall be prescribed. The costs of the physical examination and 1 the mental health evaluation required under this subsection 2 shall be paid from the trust and agency fund of the city. 3 Sec. 2. Section 411.1, subsection 14, Code 2023, is amended 4 by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu thereof the 5 following: 6 14. “Member in good standing” means any member in service 7 who has not been terminated by the employing city of the 8 member pursuant to section 400.18 or 400.19. Termination 9 procedures initiated by the chief of police or chief of the 10 fire department pursuant to section 400.19 shall not become 11 final or adversely impact a member’s status as a member in 12 good standing until all appeals provided by an applicable 13 collective bargaining agreement or by law have been exhausted. 14 Disciplinary action other than discharge shall not adversely 15 affect a member’s status as a member in good standing. 16 Sec. 3. Section 411.1, Code 2023, is amended by adding the 17 following new subsection: 18 NEW SUBSECTION . 15A. “Ordinary disability beneficiary” 19 means a member retired on an ordinary disability retirement 20 benefit pursuant to section 411.6, subsection 3, for three 21 years or less. 22 Sec. 4. Section 411.6, subsection 5, paragraphs a and b, 23 Code 2023, are amended to read as follows: 24 a. Upon application to the system , of a member in good 25 standing , of an ordinary disability beneficiary, or of the 26 chief of the police or fire departments, respectively, any 27 member in good standing or ordinary disability beneficiary 28 who has become totally and permanently incapacitated for duty 29 as the natural and proximate result of an injury or disease 30 incurred in or aggravated by the actual performance of duty 31 at some definite time and place or arising out of and in the 32 course of the employment , or while acting pursuant to order, 33 outside of the city by which the member is regularly employed, 34 shall be retired by the system , or may have a retirement 35 -2- HF 687 (2) 90 ec/rn/md 2/ 9

H.F. 687 for an ordinary disability converted to a retirement for an 1 accidental disability, if the medical board certifies that 2 the member or ordinary disability beneficiary is mentally or 3 physically incapacitated for further performance of duty, 4 that the incapacity is likely to be permanent, and that the 5 member should be retired or should have a retirement for an 6 ordinary disability converted to a retirement for an accidental 7 disability . However, if a person’s membership in the system 8 first commenced on or after July 1, 1992, the member or 9 ordinary disability beneficiary shall not be eligible for 10 benefits with respect to a disability which would not exist, 11 but for a medical condition that was known to exist on the 12 date that membership commenced. A medical condition shall be 13 deemed to have been known to exist on the date that membership 14 commenced if the medical condition is reflected in any record 15 or document completed or obtained in accordance with the 16 system’s medical protocols pursuant to section 400.8 , or in any 17 other record or document obtained pursuant to an application 18 for disability benefits from the system, if such record or 19 document existed prior to the date membership commenced. A 20 member who is denied a benefit under this subsection , by 21 reason of a finding by the medical board that the member is 22 not mentally or physically incapacitated for the further 23 performance of duty, shall be entitled to be restored to active 24 service in the same position held immediately prior to the 25 application for disability benefits. 26 b. If a member in service or the chief of the police or 27 fire departments becomes incapacitated for duty as a natural 28 or proximate result of an injury or disease incurred in or 29 aggravated by the actual performance of duty at some definite 30 time or place or arising out of or in the course of the 31 employment, or while acting, pursuant to order, outside the 32 city by which the member is regularly employed, the member, 33 upon being found to be temporarily incapacitated following a 34 medical examination as directed by the city, is entitled to 35 -3- HF 687 (2) 90 ec/rn/md 3/ 9

H.F. 687 receive the member’s full pay and allowances from the city’s 1 general fund or trust and agency fund until reexamined as 2 directed by the city and found to be fully recovered or until 3 the city determines that the member is likely to be permanently 4 disabled. If the temporary incapacity of a member continues 5 more than sixty days, or if the city expects the incapacity 6 to continue more than sixty days, the city shall notify the 7 system of the temporary incapacity. Upon notification by a 8 city, the system may refer the matter to the medical board for 9 review and consultation with the member’s treating physician 10 during the temporary incapacity. Except as provided by this 11 paragraph, the board of trustees of the statewide system has no 12 jurisdiction over these matters until the city determines that 13 the disability is likely to be permanent. 14 Sec. 5. Section 411.6, subsection 5, Code 2023, is amended 15 by adding the following new paragraph: 16 NEW PARAGRAPH . 0d. To establish that a mental incapacity 17 occurred as the natural and proximate result of an injury or 18 disease incurred in or aggravated by the actual performance of 19 duty or arising out of and in the course of the employment, or 20 while acting pursuant to order outside of the city by which the 21 member is regularly employed, the member must demonstrate that 22 the mental incapacity is traceable to a readily identifiable 23 work event constituting a manifest happening of a sudden 24 traumatic nature from an unexpected cause or unusual strain in 25 the workplace. Whether an incident is traumatic, unexpected, 26 or unusual is determined by comparing the incident, and not 27 the effect on the member, to the experiences of other police 28 officers or fire fighters in Iowa. A member must be able to 29 trace their mental injury to a specific event or events in the 30 workplace to be eligible for accidental disability benefits. 31 Sec. 6. Section 411.6, subsection 6, Code 2023, is amended 32 by adding the following new paragraph: 33 NEW PARAGRAPH . d. (1) Upon a determination on or after 34 July 1, 2023, that an ordinary disability beneficiary is 35 -4- HF 687 (2) 90 ec/rn/md 4/ 9

H.F. 687 entitled to a retirement for accidental disability, the 1 beneficiary shall receive an accidental disability retirement 2 allowance which shall consist of a pension in an amount that is 3 equal to the greater of sixty percent of the member’s average 4 final compensation or the retirement allowance that the member 5 would receive under subsection 2 if the member had attained 6 fifty-five years of age, or an amount equal to the ordinary 7 disability retirement allowance previously received by the 8 beneficiary, whichever is greater. 9 (2) An accidental disability allowance under this paragraph 10 shall commence effective the first day of the first month 11 following the determination that the ordinary disability 12 beneficiary is entitled to a retirement for accidental 13 disability. 14 Sec. 7. Section 411.6, subsection 9, paragraph a, 15 subparagraph (1), Code 2023, is amended to read as follows: 16 (1) If, upon the receipt of evidence and proof from the 17 chief of the police or fire department that the death of a 18 member in service was the natural and proximate result of an 19 injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by the actual 20 performance of duty at some definite time and place or arising 21 out of and in the course of the employment , or while acting 22 pursuant to order, outside of the city by which the member is 23 regularly employed, the system decides that death was so caused 24 in the performance of duty, there shall be paid, in lieu of the 25 ordinary death benefit provided in subsection 8 , an accidental 26 death benefit as set forth in this subsection . 27 Sec. 8. Section 411.6, subsection 16, Code 2023, is amended 28 by adding the following new paragraph: 29 NEW PARAGRAPH . d. A person otherwise eligible to receive 30 an ordinary or accidental disability retirement benefit under 31 this chapter shall not be eligible to receive such a benefit 32 if the person is subsequently removed, discharged, demoted, 33 or suspended pursuant to section 400.18 or 400.19, or other 34 comparable process. Upon determination of ineligibility 35 -5- HF 687 (2) 90 ec/rn/md 5/ 9

H.F. 687 pursuant to this paragraph, the person’s entitlement to a 1 disability benefit under this chapter shall terminate and any 2 disability retirement allowance received by such a person must 3 be returned to the system together with interest earned on the 4 disability retirement allowance calculated at a rate determined 5 by the system. However, the determination of ineligibility 6 as provided under this paragraph may be waived for good cause 7 as determined by the board. The burden of establishing good 8 cause is on the person who received the disability retirement 9 allowance. 10 Sec. 9. Section 411.8, subsection 1, paragraph f, 11 subparagraph (8), Code 2023, is amended to read as follows: 12 (8) Beginning July 1, 1996, and each fiscal year thereafter, 13 an amount equal to the member’s contribution rate times each 14 member’s compensation shall be paid to the fund from the 15 earnable compensation of the member. For the purposes of this 16 subparagraph, the member’s contribution rate shall be nine and 17 thirty-five hundredths percent or, beginning July 1, until June 18 30, 2009, nine and four-tenths percent until June 30, 2023, 19 and, beginning July 1, 2023, nine and sixty-four hundredths 20 percent . However, the system shall increase the member’s 21 contribution rate as necessary to cover any increase in cost 22 to the system resulting from statutory changes which are 23 enacted by any session of the general assembly meeting after 24 January 1, 1991, if the increase cannot be absorbed within 25 the contribution rates otherwise established pursuant to this 26 paragraph, but subject to a maximum employee contribution rate 27 of eleven and three-tenths percent or, beginning July 1, 2009, 28 eleven and thirty-five hundredths percent. The contribution 29 rate increases specified in 1994 Iowa Acts, ch. 1183, pursuant 30 to this chapter and chapter 97A shall be the only member 31 contribution rate increases for these systems resulting from 32 the statutory changes enacted in 1994 Iowa Acts, ch. 1183, and 33 shall apply only to the fiscal periods specified in 1994 Iowa 34 Acts, ch. 1183. After the employee contribution reaches eleven 35 -6- HF 687 (2) 90 ec/rn/md 6/ 9

H.F. 687 and three-tenths percent or eleven and thirty-five hundredths 1 percent, as applicable, sixty percent of the additional cost 2 of such statutory changes shall be paid by employers under 3 paragraph “c” and forty percent of the additional cost shall be 4 paid by employees under this paragraph. 5 Sec. 10. Section 411.15, Code 2023, is amended to read as 6 follows: 7 411.15 Hospitalization and medical attention. 8 1. a. Cities shall provide hospital, nursing, and medical 9 attention for the members of the police and fire departments 10 of the cities, when injured while in the performance of their 11 duties as members of such department , and or for injuries and 12 diseases arising out of and in the course of the employment. 13 b. Cities shall continue to provide hospital, nursing, and 14 medical attention for injuries or diseases incurred while in 15 the performance of their duties or arising out of and in the 16 course of the employment for members or beneficiaries receiving 17 a retirement allowance under section 411.6 , subsection 6 . 18 c. Disease under this subsection shall mean heart disease 19 or any disease of the lungs or respiratory tract and shall be 20 presumed to have been contracted while on active duty as a 21 result of strain or the inhalation of noxious fumes, poison, or 22 gases. Disease under this subsection shall also mean cancer 23 or infectious disease, both as defined in section 411.1, and 24 shall be presumed to have been contracted while on active duty 25 as a result of that duty. 26 2. a. Cities may fund the cost of the hospital, nursing, 27 and medical attention required by this section through the 28 purchase of insurance, by self-insuring the obligation, or 29 through payment of moneys into a local government risk pool 30 established for the purpose of covering the costs associated 31 with the requirements of this section . However, the cost of 32 the hospital, nursing, and medical attention required by this 33 section shall not be funded through an employee-paid health 34 insurance policy. 35 -7- HF 687 (2) 90 ec/rn/md 7/ 9

H.F. 687 b. A member or beneficiary shall not be required to pay the 1 cost of the hospital, nursing, and medical attention required 2 by this section, including but not limited to any costs 3 or premiums associated with any insurance policy providing 4 coverage for the hospital, nursing, and medical attention. 5 c. The cost of the hospital, nursing, and medical attention 6 required by this section shall be paid from moneys held in a 7 trust and agency fund established pursuant to section 384.6 , 8 or out of the appropriation for the department to which the 9 injured person belongs or belonged; provided that any amounts 10 received by the injured person from any other source for such 11 specific purposes, shall be deducted from the amount paid by 12 the city under the provisions of this section . 13 3. a. For purposes of this subsection, “date of the 14 occurrence of the injury or disease” means the date that the 15 member or beneficiary knew or should have known that the injury 16 or disease was work-related. 17 b. To be provided the cost of the hospital, nursing, and 18 medical attention required by this section, the city or the 19 city’s representative shall have actual knowledge of the 20 occurrence of an injury or disease or be provided notice of the 21 occurrence of an injury or disease on behalf of a member or 22 beneficiary within ninety days from the date of the occurrence 23 of the injury or disease. 24 c. (1) Except as provided in subparagraph (2), an action 25 to require the city to provide the cost of hospital, nursing, 26 and medical attention required by this section shall not be 27 maintained unless the action is commenced before the later of 28 any of the following: 29 (a) Two years from the date of the occurrence of the injury 30 or disease. 31 (b) Two years from the date the city denies a claim to 32 provide hospital, nursing, and medical attention required by 33 this section. 34 (2) A city shall not be responsible for any claim or action 35 -8- HF 687 (2) 90 ec/rn/md 8/ 9