49–010 

Calendar No. 49 

114TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 114–26 

DON’T TAX OUR FALLEN PUBLIC SAFETY HEROES ACT 

APRIL 14, 2015.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. HATCH, from the Committee on Finance, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 916] 

The Committee on Finance, having considered an original bill, S. 

916, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude certain compensation received by public safety officers and their dependents from gross income, having considered the same, reports 

favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the 

bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

I. LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND ..................................................................... 1 

II. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL ...................................................................... 2 

A. Exclusion of Certain Compensation Received by Public Safety 

Officers and Their Dependents (sec. 2 of the bill and sec. 104(a) 

of the Code) ......................................................................................... 2 

III. BUDGET EFFECTS OF THE BILL ............................................................... 3 

IV. VOTES OF THE COMMITTEE ...................................................................... 4 

V. REGULATORY IMPACT AND OTHER MATTERS ..................................... 4 

VI. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED 6 

I. LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND 

The Committee on Finance, having considered S. 916, the ‘‘Don’t 

Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act,’’ to amend the Internal 

Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude certain compensation received by 

public safety officers and their dependents from gross income, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that 

the bill do pass. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with HEARING
2 

1Sec. 104(a)(1). All statutory references are to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (‘‘Code’’) 

unless otherwise indicated. 2Treas. Reg. sec. 1.104–1(b). 

3 42 U.S.C. sec. 3796(a). 

Background and need for legislative action 

Background.—Based on a proposal recommended by Senator 

Toomey, the Committee on Finance marked up original legislation 

(a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude certain compensation received by public safety officers and their dependents from gross income) on February 11, 2015, and, with a majority present, ordered the bill favorably reported. Related bills include— • In the 114th Congress, S. 322 (Senators Ayotte, Shaheen, 

Blunt, Capito, Cardin, Coons, and Toomey) and S. 279 (Senator 

Ayotte); and • In the 113th Congress, S. 2912 (Senators Ayotte, Shaheen, and 

McConnell, and passed by the Senate on September 18, 2014); S. 

2377 (Senators Ayotte, Shaheen, and McConnell); and S. 2355 

(Senators Ayotte and Shaheen). 

Need for legislative action.—Under longstanding tax law, benefits 

paid as compensation for an employee’s injury or death on the job 

are excluded from income. This exclusion applies in the case of payments made with respect to a public safety officer who is killed or 

becomes disabled in the line of duty. However, because the tax 

rules do not address every specific Federal or State program under 

which such payments are made, uncertainty exists as to the tax 

treatment of payments under a Federal program of the Bureau of 

Justice Assistance and similar State programs. The bill removes 

this uncertainty. 

II. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL 

A. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN COMPENSATION RECEIVED BY PUBLIC

SAFETY OFFICERS AND THEIR DEPENDENTS (SEC. 2 OF THE BILL

AND SEC. 104(a) OF THE CODE) 

PRESENT LAW

Amounts received under a workmen’s compensation act as compensation for personal injuries or sickness are excluded from gross 

income.1 This exclusion applies to amounts received by an employee under a workmen’s compensation act, or under a statute in 

the nature of a workmen’s compensation act that provides compensation to employees for personal injuries or sickness incurred in 

the course of employment, as well as to compensation paid under 

a workmen’s compensation act to the survivor or survivors of a deceased employee.2

Under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, 

if the Bureau of Justice Assistance (‘‘BJA’’), an agency of the U.S. 

Department of Justice, determines that a public safety officer has 

died as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty, the BJA will pay a monetary benefit to 

surviving family members or other beneficiary (‘‘public safety officer survivor’s benefit’’).3 In addition, if the BJA determines that a 

public safety officer has become permanently and totally disabled 

as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with HEARING
3 

4 42 U.S.C. sec. 3796(b). 

5 Rev. Rul. 77–235, 1977–2 C.B. 45. 

in the line of duty, the BJA will pay a monetary benefit to the public safety officer (‘‘public safety officer disability benefit’’).4

With respect to payments made by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (a previous agency of the U.S. Department of 

Justice) under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Act of 1976 to a 

surviving dependent of a public safety officer who died as the direct 

and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of 

duty, the Internal Revenue Service has ruled that the payments 

are made under a statute in the nature of a workmen’s compensation act and are thus excluded from gross income.5

REASONS FOR CHANGE

The Committee wishes to make it clear that benefits paid solely 

as a result of a public safety officer’s death or disability in the line 

of duty are excluded from income. 

EXPLANATION OF PROVISION

The provision amends the Code to provide a specific exclusion 

from gross income for amounts paid (1) by the BJA as a public 

safety officer survivor’s benefit or public safety officer disability 

benefit, or (2) under a State program that provides monetary compensation for surviving dependents of a public safety officer who 

has died as the direct and proximate result of a personal injury 

sustained in the line of duty, except that the exclusion does not 

apply to any amounts that would have been payable if the death 

of the public safety officer had occurred other than as the direct 

and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of 

duty. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

The provision is effective on the date of enactment of the provision. 

III. BUDGET EFFECTS OF THE BILL 

A. COMMITTEE ESTIMATES

In compliance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate and section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional 

Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, as amended (the 

‘‘Budget Act’’), the following statement is made concerning the estimated budget effects of the revenue provisions of the ‘‘Don’t Tax 

Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act’’ as reported. 

The bill is estimated to have no effect on Federal budget receipts 

for fiscal years 2015–2025. 

B. BUDGET AUTHORITY AND TAX EXPENDITURES

Budget authority 

In compliance with section 308(a)(1) of the Budget Act, the Committee states that no provisions of the bill as reported involve new 

or increased budget authority. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with HEARING
4 

Tax expenditures 

In compliance with section 308(a)(1) of the Budget Act, the Committee states that the revenue provisions of the bill do not involve 

increased or reduced tax expenditures (see statement of effect on 

budget receipts in part A, above). 

C. CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE

In accordance with section 402 of the Budget Act, the Committee 

advises that the Congressional Budget Office has not submitted a 

statement on the bill. The letter from the Congressional Budget Office will be provided separately. 

IV. VOTES OF THE COMMITTEE 

In compliance with paragraph 7(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that, with a majority 

present, the ‘‘Don’t Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act’’ was 

ordered favorably reported by voice vote on February 11, 2015. 

V. REGULATORY IMPACT AND OTHER MATTERS 

A. REGULATORY IMPACT

Pursuant to paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules 

of the Senate, the Committee makes the following statement concerning the regulatory impact that might be incurred in carrying 

out the provisions of the bill. 

Impact on individuals and businesses, personal privacy and paperwork 

The bill clarifies that certain benefits paid solely as a result of 

the death or disability of a public safety officer in the line of duty 

are excluded from income. The provisions of the bill are not expected to impose additional administrative requirements or regulatory burdens on individuals or businesses. 

The provisions of the bill do not impact personal privacy. 

B. UNFUNDED MANDATES STATEMENT

This information is provided in accordance with section 423 of 

the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. No. 104–4). 

The Committee has determined that the tax provisions of the reported bill do not contain Federal private sector mandates or Federal intergovernmental mandates on State, local, or tribal governments within the meaning of Public Law 104–4, the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995. 

C. TAX COMPLEXITY ANALYSIS

Section 4022(b) of the Internal Revenue Service Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 (‘‘IRS Reform Act’’) requires the staff of the 

Joint Committee on Taxation (in consultation with the Internal 

Revenue Service and the Treasury Department) to provide a tax 

complexity analysis. The complexity analysis is required for all legislation reported by the Senate Committee on Finance, the House 

Committee on Ways and Means, or any committee of conference if 

the legislation includes a provision that directly or indirectly 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with HEARING
5 

amends the Internal Revenue Code and has widespread applicability to individuals or small businesses. The staff of the Joint 

Committee on Taxation has determined that there are no provisions that are of widespread applicability to individuals or small 

businesses. 

VI. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS 

REPORTED 

In the opinion of the Committee, it is necessary in order to expedite the business of the Senate, to dispense with the requirements 

of paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate 

(relating to the showing of changes in existing law made by the bill 

as reported by the Committee). 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with HEARING