An Act To Improve Insurance Coverage for Volunte~:r First Responders
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0235
Committee Amendment CA_A_S76 (Senate)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 71, L.D. 235, Bill, "An Act To Improve 
Insurance Coverage for Volunte~:r First Responders" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Improve Insuranc~: Coverage for First Responders' 
Amend the bill in section 1 by striking out all of subsection 7 (page 1, lines 3 to 13 in 
L.D.) and inserting the following; 
'7. 
Injury to firefighter or emergency medical services person. 
There is a 
rebuttable presumption that a personal injury to a paid or volunteer firefighter or a paid or 
volunteer emergency medical services person considered an employee within the 
meaning of this Act is considered to arise out of and in the course of employment and is 
compensable under this Act if t:ae personal injury occurs at any time after the firefighter 
or emergency medical services person receives notice of a fire or emergency and is in the 
process of responding. An employer providing self-insurance or an insurer providing 
workers' compensation insurance may not seek to limit benefits under this Act to a 
firefighter or emergency medical services person to a personal injury that occurs only 
after the firefighter or emergency medical services person begins traveling on a public 
way.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the majority report of the Joint Standing Committee on 
Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development, creates a rebuttable 
presumption in place of the absolute right created by the bill and applies the rebuttable 
presumption to paid firefighters and emergency medical services persons as well as 
volunteers. The amendment also applies to both paid and volunteer firefighters and 
COMMI'TTEE AMENDMENT 
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I 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 71, L.D. 235 
emergency medical services persons the bill's prohibition on an employer's or insurer's 
seeking to limit workers' compensation under the Maine Workers' Compensation Act of 
1992 to only those injuries that occur after the firefighter or emergency medical services 
person begins traveling on a public way. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 04/30/13 MaC! 
LD235 
LR 15(02) 
An Act To Improve Insurallice Coverage for Volunteer First Responders 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ~,fs -'16 ') 
Committee: Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development 
/ 
Fiscnl Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Potential State Mandate - Unfunded 
State Mandates 
Required Activity 
Unit Affected 
Shifting the burden of proof from a firefighter or emergency medical services person 
Municipality 
to the municipality that an injury sustained by the claimant after receiving 
notification of a fire or emergency did not arise out of and in the course of 
employment may represent a modification or expansion of a municipal activity. 
Local Cost 
Significant 
statewide 
The required local activities in this bill may represent a State mandate pursuant to the Constitution of Maine. Unless 
General Fund appropriations are provided to fund at least 90% of the additional costs or a Mandate Preamble is 
amended to the bill and two-thirds of the members of each House vote to exempt this mandate from the funding 
requirement, municipalities may not be required to implement these changes. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
This legislation will increase costs to local governments in the form of both higher premiums for workers' 
compensation insurance and increased legal costs. The impact to individual municipalities will depend on actual 
experience. 
LR0015(C2) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1