DE HB133

Defines suicide as a death in the line of duty for covered persons including law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics, correctional officers, probation and parole officers, National Guard members, and other specified first responders.

Establishes a rebuttable presumption that any death of a covered person occurring while on active duty is a death in the line of duty, placing the burden on the employer to prove otherwise by preponderance of the evidence.

Expands the definition of "death in the line of duty" for volunteer firefighters, auxiliary members, and rescue company members to include deaths while traveling to or returning from emergency calls, measured from entering a vehicle in response to an alarm until first disembarkation at home or another location.

Removes the previous exclusion of suicide from line-of-duty death benefits, recognizing elevated suicide rates among first responders due to occupational stress, mental health challenges, and traumatic exposure.

Qualifies line-of-duty deaths from natural causes (heart attack, stroke, vascular rupture) if they occur within 24 hours of nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical activity while on duty.