September 12, 2006, Introduced by Reps. Tobocman, Polidori, Kathleen Law, Condino, Gillard, Kolb, Alma Smith, Zelenko, Farrah, Steil, Jones, Kooiman, Byrnes, Hunter, Bieda, Miller, Sak, Whitmer, Mayes, Accavitti, Donigan, Gonzales, Cushingberry, Sheltrown, Vagnozzi, Angerer, Hildenbrand, Palsrok, Huizenga, Pavlov, McDowell, Leland, McConico, Stakoe, Nofs, Stewart, Shaffer, Amos, Farhat, Proos, Green, Ward, Wenke, Spade, Schuitmaker, Gaffney, Casperson, Meyer, Kahn, David Law, LaJoy, Baxter, Emmons, Marleau, Cheeks and Lemmons, III and referred to the Committee on Employment Relations, Training, and Safety.
A bill to amend 1969 PA 317, entitled
"Worker's disability compensation act of 1969,"
by amending section 405 (MCL 418.405), as amended by 1980 PA 457.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
405. (1) In the case of a member of a full fully
paid
fire
department of an airport run by a county road commission in
counties
of 1,000,000 population or more or a public airport
authority, or by a state university or college; ,
or of a full
fully paid fire or police department of a city, township, or
incorporated village employed and compensated upon a full-time
basis; ,
a county sheriff and the deputies of the county sheriff;
,
members a member of the state police; , conservation
officers; ,
and an officer of the motor carrier inspectors of
the
Michigan public service commission enforcement division of the
department
of state police, "personal
injury" shall be construed
to
include includes respiratory and heart diseases, or
illnesses
resulting
therefrom, which that develop or manifest
themselves
during a period while the member of the department is in the active
service of the department and that result from the performance of
duties for the department.
(2) For members of fully paid fire departments employed 24
months or more whose primary duty for 24 months or more was
fighting fires or inspecting fire scenes, "personal injury"
includes all respiratory tract, bladder, skin, brain, kidney,
blood, and lymphatic cancers.
(3) (2)
Such respiratory Respiratory
and heart diseases or
and illnesses resulting therefrom, and respiratory tract, bladder,
skin,
brain, kidney, blood, and lymphatic cancers are deemed
considered to arise out of and in the course of employment in the
absence of evidence to the contrary. Respiratory tract, bladder,
skin, brain, kidney, blood, and lymphatic cancers of a member of a
fully paid fire department are not considered to arise out of and
in the course of employment if evidence is shown that the member of
the fully paid fire department was a consistent smoker of
cigarettes or other tobacco products within the 5 years immediately
preceding the date of filing a claim under this act.
(4) (3)
As a condition precedent to filing
an application
for benefits, the claimant, if he or she is one of those enumerated
in subsection (1) or (2), shall first make application for, and do
all things necessary to qualify for any pension benefits which he
or she, or his or her decedent, may be entitled to. If a final
determination is made that pension benefits shall not be awarded,
then the presumption of "personal injury" as provided in this
section
shall apply applies. The employer or employee may request
2 copies of the determination denying pension benefits, 1 copy of
which
may be filed with the bureau workers'
compensation agency.
(5) The workers' compensation agency shall research the
financial and procedural implications of applying a cancer
presumption to volunteer firefighters. The study shall include a
description of the necessary amendments to this act in order to
apply a cancer presumption on an equal basis to all classifications
of firefighters. The report shall be provided to the chair and
vice-chair of the senate and house committees that consider
worker's compensation legislation by June 30, 2006.