An Act amending the act of June 24, 1976 (P.L.424, No.101), referred to as the Emergency and Law Enforcement Personnel Death Benefits Act, further providing for title of act, for application and authority for payment and eligibility and amount of benefit and for definitions.

HB 237 expands Pennsylvania's death benefits for first responders' families to include cases where a firefighter, officer, or emergency worker dies from mental health conditions linked to on-duty trauma. It creates a legal presumption of line-of-duty death if the person died while influenced by a diagnosed psychiatric disorder from traumatic events (like crime scenes or mass casualties) or within 45 days of such exposure with an undiagnosed condition. The bill adds specific definitions for "personal injury sustained in the line of duty" to include PTSD and related disorders, and clarifies that traumatic events cover incidents involving serious injury, minors, or life threats. Benefits apply retroactively to deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2019, regardless of when the trauma happened.