State establishes firefighter PTSD reimbursement grant program under James Dustin Samples Act; committee recommends approval

The Department of Labor and Workforce Development asked the committee to approve rules implementing the James Dustin Samples Act, Public Chapter 465 (effective for injuries on or after January 1, 2024). Amanda Terry, legal services director for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, said the statute "requires the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Bureau of Workers' Compensation to establish a grant program to mitigate costs to an employer of providing workers' compensation for firefighters diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder by a mental health professional."

Terry said stakeholders (counties, municipalities, firefighter groups and other agencies) met in 2023 and 2024 to draft program rules and that a grant allocation committee was appointed in May 2024 to review grant allocations. The rules were reviewed by the governor's legal team and the attorney general's office, approved and filed with an effective date of March 2025, subject to committee approval. The bureau said no reimbursement claims had been made as of the hearing because claims could not be filed until Jan. 1, 2025.

Members asked whether municipalities had raised concerns about reimbursement (versus upfront payments); Troy Haley, administrator of the bureau, said the program is new and the bureau had not yet received pushback. Representative Hardaway and Representative Glenn asked for confirmation of start dates; bureau staff clarified the statute covers injuries on or after Jan. 1, 2024 but claims could be filed beginning Jan. 1, 2025. The committee voted to recommend the program rules; the clerk reported six ayes in the Senate and the House recorded "the ayes have it."