<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><BillSummaries>
<item congress="114" measure-type="s" measure-number="2944" measure-id="id114s2944" originChamber="SENATE" orig-publish-date="2016-05-18" update-date="2017-05-16">
<title>Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvement Act of 2016</title>
<summary summary-id="id114s2944v35" currentChamber="SENATE" update-date="2017-05-16">
<action-date>2016-11-29</action-date>
<action-desc>Passed Senate amended</action-desc>
<summary-text><![CDATA[<p><b>Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvement Act of 2016</b></p> <p>(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise requirements for the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program. (The PSOB program provides death, disability, and education benefits to public safety officers and survivors of public safety officers who are killed or injured in the line of duty.) </p> <p>It authorizes the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to establish PSOB program rules, regulations, and procedures based on standards developed by another federal agency. </p> <p>In determining a claimant's eligibility for death or disability benefits, the BJA must give substantial weight to evidence and facts presented by a state, local, or federal agency. </p> <p>The BJA must also publish and update information on pending claims and report to Congress on submitted claims for death, disability, and educational benefits.</p> <p>(Sec. 3) This section extends the age limitation for a PSOB claim for death, disability, or education benefits that is approved more than one year after the date on which it was filed. </p> <p>(Sec. 4) The BJA must attempt to obtain necessary documentation to determine a claimant's eligibility for death, disability, or education benefits. If it cannot determine eligibility due to a lack of documentation from a third party (e.g., a public agency), then the BJA may abandon the claim only after it utilizes investigative tools, including subpoenas, to obtain the information. </p> <p>(Sec. 5) The bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that a public safety officer acted properly at the time of injury or death and that no specified limitation (e.g., voluntary intoxication at the time of injury or death) bars the payment of death or disability benefits. The BJA may rebut the presumption by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.</p> <p>(Sec. 6) This bill's provisions apply to a claim that is pending on or submitted on or after enactment.</p>]]></summary-text>
</summary>
<summary summary-id="id114s2944v00" currentChamber="SENATE" update-date="2016-08-24">
<action-date>2016-05-18</action-date>
<action-desc>Introduced in Senate</action-desc>
<summary-text><![CDATA[<p><b>Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvement Act of 2016</b></p> <p>This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise administrative requirements for the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB) program.</p> <p>Specifically, it authorizes the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to establish PSOB program rules, regulations, and procedures based on standards developed by another federal agency.</p> <p>In determining eligibility for death or disability benefits, the BJA must give substantial weight to evidence and facts presented by a state, local, or federal agency.</p> <p>Additionally, the BJA must publish and update information on pending claims and report to Congress on submitted claims for death, disability, and educational benefits.</p>]]></summary-text>
</summary>
</item>
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<dc:language>EN</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
<dc:contributor>Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress</dc:contributor>
<dc:description>This file contains bill summaries for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.</dc:description>
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</BillSummaries>
