An Act amending the act of June 24, 1976 (P.L.424, No.101), referred to as the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act, further providing for death benefits for public works employees, coroners and staff persons and for definitions; and making an editorial change.
HB 1485 amends Pennsylvania's Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act to include "public works employees" as eligible recipients for death benefits. The bill adds a definition clarifying that public works employees - municipal workers maintaining infrastructure like roads, water systems, or parks who respond to emergencies as first responders - are covered if they die while performing duties. It expands the existing $100,000 death benefit (adjusted for inflation) to apply to these employees, alongside firefighters, law enforcement, and others already covered. The change affects surviving spouses, children, or parents of qualifying public works employees who die on duty, without altering the benefit amount or eligibility criteria for other covered personnel.
Bill status
passed
3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
May 2025
Committee Review
May 2026
House Passage
May 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced May 21, 2025
Last action May 20, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Printer's No. PN1739
→
Printer's No. PN2881
·
5 edits
MODERATE
This bill revision expands death benefit eligibility to include coroners and their staff, alongside existing groups like firefighters and law enforcement. It clarifies that benefits apply to coroners acting under specific state laws and adds new definitions to explicitly cover medical examiners and forensic personnel. The changes aim to ensure that those investigating deaths while on duty receive the same financial protections as other first responders.
Scope change
The bill's scope broadened from covering only emergency responders and public works employees to explicitly include coroners, deputy coroners, medical examiners, and their investigative staff.
ELIGIBILITY
Added coroners, deputy coroners, medical examiners, and their staff as eligible recipients of death benefits.
Updated the list of covered personnel in the act's title and introductory sections to reflect the new inclusion of coroners.
DEFINITION
Created a new definition for 'Coroner' to include elected/appointed officials and medical examiners, and a new definition for 'Staff Person' to cover forensic investigators and technicians.
REQUIREMENT
Added a specific provision stating that coroners are deemed to be acting in the performance of their duties when following state coroner laws.
TECHNICAL
Corrected a reference in the bill text from subsection (e) to subsection (f) regarding benefit adjustments.
Floor votes · House May 5, 2026
How they voted
196–5
Passed
Total votes 201
May 5, 2026
D
Democratic102
100% Yea
R
Republican99
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
10
Key actions
3
Committee
4
Amendments
1
May 20, 2026
Committee
Referred to Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness
upper
May 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third consideration and final passage
lower
May 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Re-reported as committed
lower
May 4, 2026
Committee
Re-committed to Appropriations
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported as amended
lower
May 21, 2025
Committee
Referred to Local Government
lower
1 primary · 16 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Joe Ciresi
DDemocratic
Co
Ben Sanchez
DDemocratic
Co
Dan Williams
DDemocratic
Co
Dave Delloso
DDemocratic
Co
Dave Madsen
DDemocratic
Co
Ed Neilson
DDemocratic
Co
Greg Scott
DDemocratic
Co
Jeanne McNeill
DDemocratic
Co
Joe McAndrew
DDemocratic
Co
Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz
DDemocratic
Co
Maureen Madden
DDemocratic
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