As used in this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

1. (1) BENEFIT. Any monetary allowance payable by the state for a firefighter on account of his or her disability or to his or her dependents on account of his or her death, irrespective of whether the same is payable under a pension law of the state or under some other law of the state.
2. (2) DISABILITY. A condition that renders an individual unable to perform the required duties of a firefighter.
3. (3) FIREFIGHTER. A person employed as a firefighter by the state.

4. (4) FIREFIGHTER’S OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE. Any condition or impairment of health caused by any of the following:

   1. a. Hypertension.
   2. b. Heart disease.
   3. c. Respiratory disease.
   4. d. Cancer that manifests itself in a firefighter during the period in which the firefighter is in the service of the state if the firefighter demonstrates that he or she, while employed by the state, was exposed to a known carcinogen that is reasonably linked to the disabling cancer, in which case the cancer shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of the firefighter’s employment.
   5. e. HIV that manifests itself in a firefighter during the period in which the firefighter is employed by the state if the firefighter demonstrates that he or she was exposed to HIV while in the line and scope of his or her employment with the state.
   6. f. Hepatitis that manifests itself in a firefighter during the period in which the firefighter is in the service of the state if the firefighter demonstrates that he or she was exposed to hepatitis while in the line and scope of his or her employment with the state.
   7. g. Parkinson’s disease that manifests itself in a firefighter during the period in which the firefighter is in the service of the state if the firefighter demonstrates that he or she, while employed by the state, was exposed to a known toxin that is associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, in which case the Parkinson’s disease shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of the firefighter’s employment.

(Act 2012-559, p. 1643, §1; Act 2026-353, §1.)