Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of this bill is to establish a Public Safety Officer Hearing Protection Program in Minnesota. The program is designed to provide hearing protection products to public safety officers, such as peace officers, firefighters, and emergency medical service providers, to prevent hearing loss due to their work environment.

Main Provisions

• Definitions:
  • Commissioner: Refers to the commissioner of public safety.
  • Hearing Protection Product: Must be a commercially available, multi-use product that fits completely in the ear canal, with a noise reduction rating of at least 25 decibels and maximum output of 80 decibels.
  • Public Safety Officer: Includes peace officers, firefighters (volunteer, on-call, part-time, career), and qualified emergency medical service providers.

• Eligibility and Distribution:

  • Public safety officers and agency heads can request hearing protection products from the commissioner using a designated form.
  • Distribution is prioritized based on application order, and products are provided at no cost while supplies last.

• Liability Limitation: State and local government entities, as well as other organizations providing hearing protection products, will not be held liable for any claim related to defective or deficient products that result in injury or death of a public safety officer.

Significant Changes

• The bill introduces an appropriation of $2,000,000 from the general fund for the fiscal year 2026 to purchase these hearing protection products directly from manufacturers for the program.

Relevant Terms

public safety officer, hearing protection, peace officer, firefighter, emergency medical service provider, noise reduction, liability waiver, appropriation.