November 1, 2005

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

IMPORTANT LEGISLATION INTRODUCED TO PROTECT THE HEALTH OF FIRST RESPONDERS WHO RESPOND TO NATIONAL DISASTERS

On September 21, 2005, Senators George V. Voinovich (R-OH) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), along with Representatives Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and Christopher Shays (R-CT) introduced legislation (S. 1741 and H.R. 3850) in the House of Representatives and Senate that would provide free medical screenings to first responders, volunteers, and emergency personnel who respond to national disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the September 11 terrorist attacks.

After 9/11, approximately 40,000 first responders answered the call to Ground Zero, many of whom experienced and continue to experience a variety of health problems, including respiratory illness, pneumonia and asthma, as a result of doing their duty. Today, there are nearly 86,000 response, rescue, recovery and law enforcement personnel responding to Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast region. On September 17, 2005, the Joint Taskforce Centers for Disease Control and Prevention & U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the “Environmental Health Needs and Habitability Assessment.” This report identified 13 environmental health issues in New Orleans, including drinking water, wastewater, solid waste and debris, and sediments and soil contamination from toxic chemicals. One of the report’s central recommendations is to “maintain a central focus on pubic safety and recovery worker health and safety throughout the rebuilding of New Orleans.”

“When disaster strikes, addressing public health – and the health of our courageous first responders – should be at the very top of our priority list,” Senator Clinton said. “We have a moral obligation to track the health of first responders – immediately and over time – and provide them with information and assistance in receiving treatment so they can maintain, or regain, their good health.”

S. 1741, the “Disaster Area Health and Environmental Monitoring Act of 2005,” and its companion bill, H.R. 3850, help make permanent protections authorizing the President to carry out a program for the protection, assessment, monitoring, and study of the health and safety of emergency personnel, volunteers and workers who respond to a disaster and assist in the cleanup, if the President declares that dangerous matter is being released. The program involves informing and protecting responders against possible health impacts, monitoring them over the short and long term, providing medical referrals, and ensuring that any information is used to prevent or protect against future incidents.

Senator Voinovich has asked NAPO and its members to help ensure that this vital legislation gets passed. He has requested that NAPO members reach out to their senators and Congressional representatives and urge them to support and co-sponsor S. 1741 or H.R. 3850. Please join NAPO in ensuring that this vital legislation gets passed by letting your senator or Congressional representative know the importance of the legislation to the law enforcement community. Thank you for all of your help.

HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS BILL PASSED WITH NEW GRANT FORMULA

On Tuesday, October 18, 2005, the Homeland Security FY 2006 appropriations bill, H.R. 2360, was signed by the President and became Public Law 109-090. The bill is heavily focused on border protection with more than one-third of the funding being appropriated for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. H.R. 2360 also includes a new distribution formula for Homeland Security grants for first responders.

The formula shift in the Homeland Security appropriations conference report would preserve the current 0.75 percent state minimum for the State Homeland Security grants and the Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention grants, while giving the Homeland Security secretary the flexibility to distribute the remaining funds based on risk rather than population. The Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant program will continue to be distributed on a risk-based only formula.

An analysis by the House Homeland Security staff estimates that under the new formula 21.6 percent of the funding would be allocated based on the state minimums, leaving 78.4 percent to be risk-based. This compares to 16.5 percent for state minimums under H.R. 1544, the “Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of 2005,” and 39.3 percent for state minimums under S. 21, the “Homeland Security Grant Enhancement Act of 2005.”

All three Homeland Security grant programs will receive a total of $1.7 billion under the fiscal year 2006 appropriations conference report, which is a 28.1 percent cut from fiscal 2005. Of this funding, the House committee staff analysis puts each state’s minimum funding at approximately $7 million, compared with more than $11 million from last fiscal year.

The new distribution formula applies only to fiscal year 2006, but Senators and House members who have been working to change the formula say that negotiations on a permanent alteration will continue, even after H.R. 2360 has been passed. NAPO will continue to work with these members of Congress to ensure that the formula change becomes permanent and that it continues to evolve into a more risk-based formula.

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE APPROVES TOUGHER

PENALTIES FOR SEX OFFENDERS

On Thursday, October 20, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to create new registration requirements for sex offenders and impose stiff penalties on those who fail to comply. Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) sponsored the bipartisan bill, S. 1086, which is nearly identical to H.R. 3132 that the House passed by a large majority on September 14.

Similar to the House bill, the Senate version would impose considerable penalties on those who fail to meet registration requirements. The bill also includes language that adds mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes against children under the age of 12. A convicted sex offender would receive 30 years to life for a crime that resulted in death, 20 years to life for a kidnapping, maiming, or crime that results in serious bodily harm, and 10 years to life for crimes involving a dangerous weapon.

The legislation directs the Attorney General to: (1) maintain a National Sex Offender Registry database to track the whereabouts and movements of covered individuals; (2) develop a software application that can be used by state and tribal actors; (3) establish and maintain a database to manage DNA information regarding covered individuals; and (4) carry out a Sex Offender Management Assistance program for awarding grants to states or tribal actors to offset costs directly associated with implementing this legislation. States would then distribute the funds to local governments and law enforcement agencies.

SALARY EQUITY FOR RESERVISTS

Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA) has introduced the “HOPE at HOME Act,” H.R. 838, which would entitle a federal, state or local employee who is a member of a reserve component and is absent from Federal employment under a call or order to active duty for a period of more than 30 days to their full civilian salary.

H.R. 838 assists the families of state and local law enforcement officers who have been called up to active military duty by amending the Internal Revenue Code to provide as a general business credit for employers, whose definition within the language of the bill includes state and local governments, a Ready Reserve-National Guard employee credit equal to the lesser of: (1) 50 percent of the actual compensation paid with respect an employee who is absent from employment during the above periods; or (2) $30,000. This employee credit would assist jurisdictions make up the difference between military pay and law enforcement pay.

NAPO supports Representative Lantos’ efforts to protect the financial security of the families of activated members of the National Guard and Reserve, by helping local governments with the burden of making up for lost wages.

GPO REFORM ACT PROPOSED

Legislation proposed by Maryland Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski would ensure that retirees who collect pensions from jobs that were not covered by Social Security would take a much smaller hit from Social Security’s government pension offset (GPO).

GPO reduces Social Security spousal and survivor’s benefits for retirees who collect pensions from jobs that were not covered by Social Security by an amount equal to two-thirds of the pension. Senator Mikulski’s bill, the Government Pension Offset Reform Act (S. 1799), would make GPO equal to the amount by which two-thirds of a retiree’s total monthly income (pension plus Social Security benefit, before the application of the offset) exceeds $1,200, adjusted for inflation.

Senator Mikulski has proposed this legislation in previous Congresses; however, none of those bills have ever made it out of committee. The Government Pension Offset disproportionately and unfairly penalizes those officers and their families who opt out of Social Security coverage because of professional need. The Social Security system is not appropriate for public safety officers who normally retire prior to or around 50 to 55 years of age and often under disability due to the stresses and dangers they face every day. NAPO was pleased to support this legislation in previous Congresses and will continue to support Senator Mikulski’s efforts in the 109^th Congress.