Bill
S 2479
Clarifies that Section 100A benefits apply to public employees who die on active military duty, whether combat-related or not, protecting survivors and easing claims for employers.
Title: An Act relative to public employee benefits for military service members on active duty
Sponsor / Originator: Senator Jason M. Lewis (Fifth Middlesex)
Status: Returned to Senate (most recent action); bill text filed Jan 17, 2025
Note on source material: the bill text and legislative history provided are for a Massachusetts Senate bill (S.2479) concerning public‑employee benefits for service members. The initial line you provided about a New York micro‑grid appears to be from a different bill and is not reflected in the text or actions below. If you intended the micro‑grid bill, please provide that bill text and I will summarize it.
Purpose / intent
- To ensure that the statutory provision referenced (Section 100A of chapter 32 of the Massachusetts General Laws) explicitly applies to public employees who die while on active military duty, regardless of whether the death is combat‑related.
Key provision
- Adds a new subsection (k) to Section 100A, chapter 32: “This section shall apply to men and women who die on active duty whether combat related or not.”
- In plain terms, the amendment clarifies that the benefits or protections set out in Section 100A are available when a public employee dies on active military duty, without limiting application to combat‑related deaths.
Who is affected
- Primary: surviving spouses, dependents, beneficiaries and employers (state and local public employers covered under chapter 32) tied to public employees who are called to or serve on active military duty.
- Secondary: municipal and state retirement/pension systems and benefit administrators who will implement the clarified applicability; potentially the Commonwealth’s fiscal outlays for survivor benefits (extent depends on scope of Section 100A benefits).
Potential impact
- Legal/administrative: removes ambiguity about eligibility for the Section 100A benefits when a public employee dies on active duty not linked to combat; likely simplifies claim determinations and reduces contested cases.
- Fiscal: could increase benefit payments or accelerate payments to survivors in cases previously excluded or disputed when deaths were non‑combat related. No fiscal figures or effective date are specified in the excerpt; a formal fiscal note would be needed for precise cost estimates.
Procedural timeline (selected)
- Filed: Jan 17, 2025 (Senate docket entry)
- Passed Senate: Mar 24, 2025 (delivered to Assembly)
- Referred to Veterans and Federal Affairs; hearings and calendar actions occurred Feb–June 2025
- Passed Assembly / Substituted for A7762: June 9, 2025
- Returned to Senate: June 9, 2025
- Current status listed as: Returned to Senate
Related/ancillary information
- Petition/similar matter: Similar measure filed in prior session (Senate No. 2330, 2023–2024).
- Companion bill: A7762 (Assembly companion/substitute)
- No effective date or specific benefit language changes beyond the single clarifying sentence were included in the provided text.
If you want, I can:
- Locate and summarize the full text of Section 100A so we can be specific about which benefits are implicated; or
- Prepare a short fiscal-impact checklist of what agencies and data would be needed to estimate costs from this change; or
- Summarize the micro‑grid bill you mentioned if you provide its text.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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