§ 9.1-400. Title of chapter; definitions.

A. This chapter shall be known and designated as the Line of Duty Act.

B. As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Beneficiary" means the spouse of a deceased person and such persons as areentitled to take under the will of a deceased person if testate, or as hisheirs at law if intestate.

"Deceased person" means any individual whose death occurs on or after April8, 1972, as the direct or proximate result of the performance of his duty,including the presumptions under §§ 27-40.1, 27-40.2, 51.1-813, and 65.2-402,as a law-enforcement officer of the Commonwealth or any of its politicalsubdivisions; a correctional officer as defined in § 53.1-1; a jail officer;a regional jail or jail farm superintendent; a sheriff, deputy sheriff, orcity sergeant or deputy city sergeant of the City of Richmond; a policechaplain; a member of any fire company or department or rescue squad that hasbeen recognized by an ordinance or a resolution of the governing body of anycounty, city or town of the Commonwealth as an integral part of the officialsafety program of such county, city or town; a member of the VirginiaNational Guard or the Virginia State Defense Force while such member isserving in the Virginia National Guard or the Virginia State Defense Force onofficial state duty or federal duty under Title 32 of the United States Code;any special agent of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board; anyregular or special conservation police officer who receives compensation froma county, city or town or from the Commonwealth appointed pursuant to theprovisions of § 29.1-200; any commissioned forest warden appointed under theprovisions of § 10.1-1135; any member or employee of the Virginia MarineResources Commission granted the power of arrest pursuant to § 28.2-900; anyDepartment of Emergency Management hazardous materials officer; any otheremployee of the Department of Emergency Management who is performing officialduties of the agency, when those duties are related to a major disaster oremergency, as defined in § 44-146.16, that has been or is later declared toexist under the authority of the Governor in accordance with § 44-146.28; anyemployee of any county, city, or town performing official emergencymanagement or emergency services duties in cooperation with the Department ofEmergency Management, when those duties are related to a major disaster oremergency, as defined in § 44-146.16, that has been or is later declared toexist under the authority of the Governor in accordance with § 44-146.28 or alocal emergency, as defined in § 44-146.16, declared by a local governingbody; any nonfirefighter regional hazardous materials emergency response teammember; or any conservation officer of the Department of Conservation andRecreation commissioned pursuant to § 10.1-115.

"Disabled person" means any individual who, as the direct or proximateresult of the performance of his duty in any position listed in thedefinition of deceased person in this section, has become mentally orphysically incapacitated so as to prevent the further performance of dutywhere such incapacity is likely to be permanent. The term shall also includeany state employee included in the definition of a deceased person who wasdisabled on or after January 1, 1966.

"Line of duty" means any action the deceased or disabled person wasobligated or authorized to perform by rule, regulation, condition ofemployment or service, or law.

(1995, cc. 112, 156, 597, §§ 2.1-133.5, 2.1-133.6; 1996, cc. 66, 174; 1998,c. 712; 2001, cc. 678, 844; 2003, cc. 37, 41, 1005; 2004, c. 30; 2005, cc.907, 910; 2006, c. 824; 2007, c. 87.)