La. Admin. Code tit. 58 § XIII-101

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section XIII-101 - Survivor Benefits ; Procedures to Use When Determining Whether Member's Death Occurred in the Line of Duty

A. Pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 11:2256(B)(1)(a)(i), the surviving spouse of any active contributing member of the system who is killed in the line of duty, is authorized to be paid, on a monthly basis, an annual benefit equal to two-thirds of the deceased member's average final compensation.

B. Pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 11:2256(B)(1)(a)(ii), the board of trustees must promulgate rules to provide a procedure for determining whether a member was killed in the line of duty. Thereafter, the board must use its discretion in applying the procedure. The application of the procedure must be in compliance with the fiduciary duty of such trustees as such duty is set forth in Title 11 of the Revised Statutes of 1950, as amended.

C. The procedure used for determining whether or not a member's death occurred in the line of duty shall be as follows: The board of trustees shall direct its staff to conduct a study of the facts and circumstances leading up to and being the cause of the member's death. The staff shall conduct that study and report its findings either verbally or in a written report, or both, to the board of trustees in an open public meeting wherein the subject matter of the surviving spouse's benefits are placed before the board for discussion and action. Such report shall be furnished to the board within 30 days of the conclusion of the study, unless the application for benefits and case file is not otherwise complete and ready for board consideration. Any motion that is made to approve survivor benefits of a member killed in the line of duty shall contain a summary recitation of the facts and circumstances leading up to and being the cause of the member's death. The board of trustees shall apply these procedures in a manner consistent with its fiduciary duty. The foregoing procedure shall be used in all similar cases and shall be known as the "Boler Act Rule".

La. Admin. Code tit. 58, § XIII-101

Promulgated by the Firefighters Retirement System, LR 35:949 (May 2009).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 11:2256(B)(1)(a)(ii) and the Administrative Procedures Act, R.S. 49:950 et seq.