§ 227-A — Death benefits

§ 227-a. Death benefits. 1. The following benefit shall be paid by the\nstate on account of death of a member of the division of state police.\nTo the widow, until she be married again, or the dependent children\nunder the age of twenty-one years, or the dependent mother of every\nmember of the division of state police whose death has been heretofore\ncaused or shall hereafter be caused by injury or disease contracted in\nthe performance of duty there shall be paid annually as long as such\ndependency continues upon certification of a board consisting of the\nsuperintendent of state police, the attorney general and the state\ncomptroller, one-half the salary including maintenance allowance,\nreceived by such member at the time of death.\n 2. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, where\nan agreement between the state and an employee organization representing\nmembers of the collective negotiating unit consisting of investigators,\nsenior investigators and investigative specialists of the division of\nstate police, or the collective negotiating unit consisting of troopers\nin the division of state police or the collective negotiating unit\nconsisting of commissioned and non-commissioned officers of the division\nof state police established pursuant to article fourteen of the civil\nservice law so provides, a survivor's benefit for a member in such\nnegotiating unit shall be paid in an amount as provided in such\nagreement in the event that such employee dies subsequent to April\nfirst, nineteen hundred eighty-five, as the result of an accidental\non-the-job injury, provided that it is finally determined by the\nappropriate federal authorities that a public safety officer's death\nbenefit is not payable pursuant to sections three thousand seven hundred\nninety-six through three thousand seven hundred ninety-six-c of title\nforty-two of the United States code, and provided further that a death\nbenefit is paid pursuant to the workers' compensation law. Such\nsurvivor's benefit shall be paid to the member's surviving spouse and\ndependent children in the same proportion as the death benefit provided\nby the workers' compensation law is paid. In the event that the member\nis not survived by a spouse or dependent children, the survivor's\nbenefit shall be paid to the estate of the member. Such survivor's\nbenefit shall be in addition to and not in place of any other survivor's\nor death benefit payable on behalf of such member, except that such\nbenefit shall not be payable if a public safety officer's death benefit\nis payable pursuant to sections three thousand seven hundred ninety-six\nthrough three thousand seven hundred ninety-six-c of the United States\ncode.\n 3. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, where\nan agreement between the state and an employee organization representing\nmembers of the collective negotiating unit consisting of investigators,\nsenior investigators and investigative specialists of the division of\nstate police or the collective negotiating unit consisting of troopers\nin the division of state police or the collective negotiating unit\nconsisting of commissioned and non-commissioned officers of the division\nof state police established pursuant to article fourteen of the civil\nservice law so provides, the state shall provide the child or children\nof such members for whom a survivor's benefit is paid pursuant to\nsubdivision two of this section, or for whom a federal public safety\nofficer's benefit is payable as specified in subdivision two of this\nsection, with full tuition up to the amount charged by the state\nuniversity of New York to attend any college or university provided,\nhowever, such child or children meet the entrance requirements of such\ncollege or university. Such child or children are those who are\ndesignated by the workers' compensation board to receive a death benefit\npursuant to the workers' compensation law.\n