Sec. 8.1. (a) If a local board determines that a fund member has a temporary or a permanent disability, the local board shall also make a recommendation to the board of trustees of the Indiana public retirement system (referred to in this section as “the system board”) concerning whether the disability is:

(1) a disability in the line of duty (as described in section 8(b)(1) of this chapter); or

(2) a disability not in the line of duty (a disability other than a disability described in section 8(b)(1) of this chapter).

The local board shall forward its recommendation to the system board.

     (b) The system board shall review the local board’s recommendation not later than forty-five (45) days after receiving the recommendation and shall then issue an initial determination of whether the disability is in the line of duty or not in the line of duty. The system board shall notify the local board, the safety board, and the fund member of its initial determination.

     (c) The fund member, the safety board, or the local board may object in writing to the system board’s initial determination under subsection (b) not later than fifteen (15) days after the initial determination is issued. If a written objection is not filed, the system board’s initial determination becomes final. If a timely written objection is filed, the system board shall issue a final determination after a hearing. The final determination must be issued not later than one hundred eighty (180) days after the date of receipt of the local board’s recommendation.

As added by P.L.118-2000, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.6-2012, SEC.247.