TITLE 45 PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

Section 9. Insuring and Indemnification of Public Officers and Employees, 45-9-1 through 45-9-110.

ARTICLE 5 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, FIREMEN, PRISON GUARDS, AND PUBLICLY EMPLOYED EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS

45-9-101. Definitions.

As used in this part, the term:

1. "Commission" means the Georgia State Indemnification Commission created in Code Section 45-9-83.
2. "Department" means the Department of Administrative Services.
3. "Firefighter" means:
   1. Any person who is employed as a professional firefighter on a full-time or part-time basis by any municipal, county, or state government fire department certified in writing by the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council pursuant to Code Section 25-3-22 employing three or more firefighters and who has the responsibility of preventing and suppressing fires, protecting life and property, enforcing municipal, county, and state fire prevention codes, enforcing any law pertaining to the prevention and control of fires or who performs any acts or actions while on duty or when responding to a fire or emergency during any fire or other emergency or while performing duties intended to protect life and property;
   2. Any individual serving as an officially recognized or designated member of a legally organized volunteer fire department certified in writing by the Georgia Firefighter Standards and Training Council pursuant to Code Section 25-3-22 who performs any acts or actions while on duty and when responding to a fire or emergency during any fire or other emergency or while performing duties intended to protect life and property; or
   3. Any employee at the State Forestry Commission whose job duties include fire mitigation.
4. "Full-time" means an employee who regularly works 30 hours or more each week.
5. "In the line of duty" means:
   1. With respect to a volunteer firefighter, while on duty and performing duties during any fire or other emergency or performing duties intended to protect life and property; or
   2. With respect to a law enforcement officer or firefighter, while on duty and performing services for and receiving compensation from the law enforcement or fire service agency which employs such officer or firefighter, while off duty and responding to any situation which would save a life or preserve the peace, or while preventing or attempting to prevent the commission of a crime or fire. A law enforcement officer or firefighter who is performing duties for and receiving compensation from a private employer at the time of such officer's or firefighter's bodily injury, but not permanent disability, shall not be considered in the line of duty if the officer or firefighter is entitled to workers' compensation benefits from the private employer or the private employer's insurer.
6. "Injured in the line of duty" means an injury which arises out of or in the course of employment in the line of duty; or, with respect to a firefighter of a legally organized volunteer fire department, such term means an injury while on duty and when responding to a fire or emergency with the volunteer fire department during any fire or other emergency or while performing duties intended to protect life and property. Going to or from work shall not be considered in the line of duty; and going to a legally organized volunteer fire department to begin a service of duty or traveling from such a fire department after duties have been completed or traveling from the scene of a fire, emergency, or other location where duties were being performed and have been completed shall not be considered in the line of duty.
7. "Law enforcement officer" means any agent or officer of this state, or a political subdivision or municipality thereof, who, as a full-time or part-time employee, is vested either expressly by law or by virtue of public employment or service with authority to enforce the criminal or traffic laws and whose duties include the preservation of public order, the protection of life and property, or the prevention, detection, or investigation of crime. Such term also includes the employees designated by the commissioner of community supervision who have the duty to supervise children adjudicated for a Class A designated felony act or Class B designated felony act after release from restrictive custody, as such terms are defined in Code Section 15-11-2, and the commissioner of juvenile justice pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection (i) of Code Section 49-4A-8 who have the duty to investigate and apprehend delinquent children, or the supervision of delinquent children under intensive supervision in the community, and any child with a pending juvenile court case alleging the child to be a child in need of services who has escaped from a facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Juvenile Justice or who has broken the conditions of supervision. Such term also includes members of the Georgia National Guard, the composition of which is set forth in Code Section 38-2-3, who have been called into active state service by the Governor.
8. "Volunteer firefighter" means a person who is appointed and regularly enrolled as a volunteer with a legally organized fire department; who, as a volunteer firefighter, has and primarily performs the principal responsibility of preventing or suppressing fires; and who satisfies the requirements specified in subparagraph (a)(1)(D) of Code Section 25-3-23.

(Code 1981, §45-9-102, enacted by Ga. L. 2000, p. 283, § 2; Ga. L. 2002, p. 415, § 45; Ga. L. 2002, p. 660, § 2; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1259, § 9; Ga. L. 2003, p. 772, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 27-2/HB 501; Code 1981, §45-9-101, as redesignated by Ga. L. 2008, p. 470, § 1/SB 254; Ga. L. 2009, p. 8, § 45/SB 46; Ga. L. 2013, p. 141, § 45/HB 79; Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 4-51/HB 242; Ga. L. 2014, p. 382, § 3/SB 324; Ga. L. 2015, p. 422, § 5-97/HB 310.)

The 2013 amendments. The first 2013 amendment, effective April 24, 2013, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "State Forestry Commission" for "Georgia Forestry Commission" in the middle of subparagraph (3)(C) and substituted "the commissioner of juvenile justice" for "commissioner of juvenile justice of the Department of Juvenile Justice" in the middle of the second sentence of paragraph (7). The second 2013 amendment, effective January 1, 2014, in the second sentence of paragraph (7), deleted "of the Department of Juvenile Justice" preceding "pursuant to", substituted "who have" for ", which employees have", substituted "delinquent children and any child with a pending juvenile court case alleging the child to be a child in need of services who has" for "delinquent and unruly children who have" and substituted "who has broken" for "who have broken". See editor's note for applicability.

The 2014 amendment, effective July 1, 2014, inserted ", or the supervision of delinquent children under intensive supervision in the community," in the middle of the second sentence of paragraph (7).

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, inserted "the commissioner of community supervision who have the duty to supervise children adjudicated for a Class A designated felony act or Class B designated felony act after release from restrictive custody, as such terms are defined in Code Section 15-11-2, and" near the middle of paragraph (7). See editor's note for applicability.