An Act to Allow Death by Suicide to Be Considered a Death While in the Line of Duty
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0439
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: SALISBURY
Amends: 25 MRSA §1612

Legislative Document
No. 439
H.P. 272
House of Representatives, February 2, 2023
An Act to Allow Death by Suicide to Be Considered a Death While 
in the Line of Duty
Submitted by the Department of Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative SALISBURY of Westbrook.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  25 MRSA §1612, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c. 658, §6, is further 
amended to read:
1.  Amount; recipients.  In a case in which the chief determines under rules adopted 
pursuant to this section that a law enforcement officer other than a Department of 
Corrections law enforcement officer has died while in the line of duty, in a case in which 
the State Fire Marshal determines under rules adopted pursuant to this section that a 
firefighter has died while in the line of duty, in a case in which the director determines 
under rules adopted pursuant to this section that an emergency medical services person has 
died while in the line of duty or in a case in which the Commissioner of Corrections 
determines under rules adopted pursuant to this section that a corrections officer or a 
Department of Corrections law enforcement officer has died while in the line of duty prior 
to July 1, 2021, the State shall pay a benefit of $100,000. When determining whether an 
individual has died while in the line of duty, the chief, the State Fire Marshal, the director 
or the commissioner, as applicable, shall evaluate whether an individual who died by 
suicide died while in the line of duty.
Beginning July 1, 2021 and annually thereafter, the benefit amount must be indexed to the 
Consumer Price Index whenever there is a percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index 
from July 1st to June 30th of the previous year.  A firefighter, law enforcement officer, 
emergency medical services person or corrections officer who dies while in the line of duty 
must be paid the benefit amount as indexed immediately prior to that firefighter's, law 
enforcement officer's, emergency medical services person's or corrections officer's death.  
The Department of Administrative and Financial Services shall adopt rules to calculate the 
annual percentage increase in the death benefit.
The State shall pay the benefit as follows:
A.  If there is no surviving child of the firefighter, law enforcement officer, emergency 
medical services person or corrections officer, to the surviving spouse of the person;
B.  If there is a surviving child or children and a surviving spouse of the firefighter, law 
enforcement officer, emergency medical services person or corrections officer, 1/2 to 
the surviving child or children in equal shares and 1/2 to the surviving spouse;
C.  If there is no surviving spouse of the firefighter, law enforcement officer, 
emergency medical services person or corrections officer, to the child or children in 
equal shares; or
D.  If there is no surviving child or spouse, to the parent or parents of the firefighter, 
law enforcement officer, emergency medical services person or corrections officer in 
equal shares.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the applicable authority, when determining whether a law 
enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical services person or corrections officer 
has died while in the line of duty, to evaluate whether an individual who died by suicide 
has died while in the line of duty. The bill also gives the Commissioner of Corrections, 
rather than the Chief of the State Police, the authority to make that determination for 
Department of Corrections law enforcement officers.