| Chapter 101 |
| 2019 -- H 5453 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 07/08/2019 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO TAXATION - LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES |
| Introduced By: Representatives McEntee, Craven, Almeida, Ucci, and Morin |
| Date Introduced: February 14, 2019 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Chapter 44-5 of the General Laws entitled "Levy and Assessment of Local |
| Taxes" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: |
| 44-5-13.40. Property tax exemptions for surviving spouses of police and fire |
| personnel killed in the line of duty. |
| (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of chapter 5 of title 44, each municipality shall |
| exempt from taxation the real property of the surviving spouse of any law enforcement officer or |
| firefighter who was killed in the line of duty, who occupies the real property as their his or her |
| principal place of residence. This exemption shall cease if the surviving spouse remarries and |
| shall not be claimed thereafter. This exemption applies to the surviving spouse's principal place of |
| residence without any restriction on the spouse's moving to a different principal place of |
| residence within the state. |
| (b) For the purposes of this section, killed in the line of duty shall mean a traumatic |
| physical wound (or traumatized physical condition of the body) directly and proximately caused |
| by external force (such as bullets, explosives, sharp instruments, blunt objects, or physical blows), |
| chemicals, electricity, climatic conditions, infectious disease, radiation, virii viruses, or bacteria. |
| When a law enforcement officer or firefighter engages in a situation involving nonroutine |
| stressful or strenuous physical law enforcement, fire suppression or participates in a training |
| exercise involving nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical activity and dies of a heart attack, |
| stroke, or vascular rupture not later than twenty-four (24) hours after the officer or firefighter |
| engaged in such the activity, the death shall be considered killed in the line of duty. |
| (c) The provisions of this section shall not be applied retroactively but shall only be |
| applied prospectively. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC001376/SUB A |
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