HB 1393 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to firefighters and paramedics; creating
3	s. 112.183, F.S.; providing that death or disability due
4	to cancer suffered by a firefighter or paramedic employed
5	by the state or its political subdivisions is presumed
6	accidental and suffered in the line of duty under certain
7	conditions; authorizing purchase of insurance by local
8	governments; providing criteria for physical exams for
9	firefighters and paramedics; requiring the employing
10	agency to keep records and notify firefighters and
11	paramedics of their reported exposure to known
12	carcinogens; providing that firefighters and paramedics
13	employed on the effective date of the act need not comply
14	with physical examination requirements; providing an
15	effective date.
16
17	WHEREAS, U.S. Department of Labor statistics show
18	firefighting to be the nation’s most dangerous occupation, with
19	an on-the-job death rate of more than twice that of law
20	enforcement officers and nearly five times greater than the
21	average for all industries, and
22	WHEREAS, firefighters and paramedics are trained to risk
23	their lives or bodily injury to protect the lives and property
24	of the public, and
25	WHEREAS, firefighters and paramedics are exposed by reason
26	of their employment to smoke, fumes, and burning substances of a
27	toxic, carcinogenic, or poisonous nature and are required by
28	their employment to enter uncontrolled environments in the
29	performance of their duties, unaware of and without regard for
30	potentially harmful exposures, and
31	WHEREAS, the development of cancer may be slow and cancer
32	may not be manifested until many years after exposure to the
33	cancer-producing agent, and
34	WHEREAS, it is fair and proper that firefighters and
35	paramedics be compensated for death or disability due to
36	exposure to cancer-producing substances, NOW, THEREFORE,
37
38	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
39
40	Section 1. Section 112.183, Florida Statutes, is created
41	to read:
42	112.183 Firefighters and paramedics; special provisions
43	relative to cancer.--
44	(1) Any condition or impairment of health of a firefighter
45	or paramedic employed full time by the state or any
46	municipality, county, port authority, special tax district, or
47	fire control district which is caused by cancer and results in
48	total or partial disability or death is presumed to have been
49	accidental and to have been suffered in the line of duty, unless
50	the contrary is shown by competent evidence. However, the
51	firefighter or paramedic must have successfully passed a
52	physical examination before entering into service as a
53	firefighter or paramedic, which examination failed to reveal any
54	evidence of any such condition. If the employing agency fails
55	to provide a physical examination before the firefighter or
56	paramedic enters service, the firefighter or paramedic must
57	successfully pass a physical examination given after the
58	firefighter or paramedic enters service. The presumption does
59	not apply to benefits payable under or granted in a policy of
60	life insurance or disability insurance, unless the insurer and
61	insured have negotiated for the additional benefits to be
62	included in the policy contract.
63	(2) The governmental entities set forth in subsection (1)
64	may negotiate policy contracts for life and disability insurance
65	which include accidental death benefits or double indemnity
66	coverage and which include the presumption that any condition or
67	impairment of health of any firefighter or paramedic caused by
68	cancer resulting in total or partial disability or death was
69	accidental and suffered in the line of duty unless the contrary
70	is shown by competent evidence.
71	(3) A physical examination administered pursuant to
72	subsection (1) must include at least the following tests, as
73	appropriate for the gender of the examinee:
74	(a) Physical breast examination and mammogram for female
75	breast cancer.
76	(b) Digital rectal examination, proctosigmoidoscopy, and
77	blood stool test for colon and rectum cancer.
78	(c) Rectal examination for prostate cancer.
79	(d) Pap test for uterine cancer.
80	(e) Pelvic examination for ovarian cancer.
81	(f) Radiographic examination for lung cancer.
82	(4) The employing agency shall maintain a record of any
83	reported exposure of a firefighter or paramedic to a known
84	carcinogen as defined by the International Agency for Research
85	on Cancer and must notify the firefighter or paramedic of the
86	exposure within 48 hours after the exposure is reported.
87	Section 2. A firefighter or paramedic employed on the
88	effective date of this act is not required to meet the
89	provisions of s. 112.183, Florida Statutes, as created by this
90	act, as to a physical examination.
91	Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.