S. 1696: Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvements Act of 2011

112th Congress · introduced 2011-10-12 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6467-6469)

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2011-10-12 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S6467-6469) Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvements Act of 2011

Plain summary

Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvements Act of 2011 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise provisions concerning public safety officer death or disability benefits, including by: (1) modifying the list of recipients of death benefits payable when a public safety officer has died as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty to include as an eligible individual, if there is no other individual meeting existing eligibility requirements, the surviving individual (or individuals, in equal shares) who would qualify as an eligible "child" but for age; (2) providing that disability benefits shall be payable when an officer has become permanently and totally disabled as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury (currently, as the direct result of a catastrophic injury) sustained in the line of duty; (3) eliminating the $5,000,000 limit on total annual disability benefits paid; (4) providing that such death or disability benefits shall not be in addition to payments under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001; (5) revising the criteria for death resulting from a heart attack, stroke, or vascular rupture suffered by a public safety officer while on duty; (6) including as eligible for benefits a candidate-officer (an individual officially enrolled or admitted in an officially recognized, formal program of instruction or training as a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew) who is injured while engaging in an activity or exercise that is part of that program; (7) including within the definitions of "member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew" and "public safety officer" an officially recognized or designated employee or volunteer member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew that is a public agency or a nonprofit entity serving the public that is officially authorized or licensed to engage in rescue activity or to provide emergency medical services and that is officially designated as a prehospital emergency medical response agency; and (8) making those who have sustained a catastrophic injury in the line of duty eligible for peer support and counseling programs. Makes funds available for appeals from final determinations (currently, decisions) of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and for expenses of representation of hearing examiners, with respect to public safety officer's death benefits under specified circumstances. Provides that no appeal shall bring a final determination of the Bureau before any court for review unless notice of appeal is filed within 90 days after the date on which the Bureau serves notice of the final determination. Defines a "hearing examiner" under such Act to include any medical or claims examiner.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Public Safety Officers' Benefits Improvements Act of 2011

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT] · 8 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112s1696.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/s>

Record fed-us-cong112-s1696 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112