(a) For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 7-51-210
Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
Decedent: A deceased person.
Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
Probate: Proving a will
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) “Emergency medical technician” means an emergency medical technician advanced and paramedic;(2) “Emergency responder” means a firefighter, emergency medical technician, a volunteer rescue squad worker, or law enforcement officer;(3) “Firefighter” means any regular or full-time employee of a fire department as defined in § 68-102-302, or any unpaid volunteer member of a municipal or nonprofit fire department who is registered and recognized by the state fire marshal and who is required to extinguish and control fires or fire-related incidents;(4) “In the line of duty” means in the course of employment and in the actual discharge of the duties of the position;(5) “Law enforcement officer” means the sheriff, sheriff’s deputies, a deputy jailer, or any police officer employed, commissioned, or appointed by this state, a municipality, or political subdivision of this state whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime and the apprehension of offenders, as well as those whose responsibility is the supervision of those who have been charged with a criminal offense; and(6) “Volunteer rescue squad worker” means any person who is trained in emergency and rescue work and who performs such work without compensation in a unit that is equipped to address such situations.(b) The estate of any emergency responder who is killed in the line of duty shall be entitled to receive a two-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollar annuity, with the estate receiving an annual installment of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for five (5) years. The emergency responder must have been current in any required training and physical exams at the time the death occurred for the estate to receive the payment. Payment shall be made from the general fund after receipt by the department of finance and administration of a certified death certificate, letters testamentary or letters of administration for the estate of the deceased from a probate court, and an affidavit from the decedent‘s employer or volunteer unit that the decedent was killed in the line of duty.(c) A claim for payment of an annuity pursuant to this section must be filed with the department of finance and administration no later than three (3) years after the date of death of the decedent.(d) A person’s estate is only entitled to receive one (1) two-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollar annuity, regardless of the person being in more than one (1) category of emergency responder.(e) A denial of a claim made under this section by the estate of a law enforcement officer shall be subject to review by the Tennessee peace officer standards and training commission within ninety (90) days of the denial. The commission has the authority to review the claim and issue a final order which is binding upon this state. The commission shall cause copies of the final order to be delivered to the claimant’s estate and the department of finance and administration.
