Montgomery County                               2705

shall, in determining whether such injury occurred or disease was con-
tracted in the performance of police duties or such injury or disease
was aggravated by such duty and such injury or disease or aggravation
disabled him for the performance of police duties, solicit recommendations
and advice from the county executive (except where the retirement appli-
cation is initiated by the county executive), the superintendent of police,
and competent medical authority as it may deem necessary.

(d) Whenever any member of the Montgomery County police,
having served not less than five years, shall have become incapacitated
either by accident, disease or disability contracted not in line of duty
so as to be unable to perform his duties, such member may make written
application to the county personnel board for retirement and relief or
the county executive may make application for his retirement upon the
member's failure or refusal to do so. Upon a finding of fact by the
county personnel board in support of the foregoing provisions of this
subsection he shall be retired from the service thereof and be entitled
to receive relief from the police relief and retirement fund in an amount
to be determined as follows: If he shall have served more than five years
but less than six years on such police prior to being incapacitated, he
shall receive compensation amounting to ten percentum per year of the
salary received by him at the date of retirement and for each additional
year he shall have served on such police prior to incapacitation, he
shall receive an additional two percentum per year of the salary re-
ceived by him at the date of retirement but in no case shall any member
of such police who is retired under the provisions of this section receive
compensation in excess of sixty percentum of his annual salary at the

date of retirement.

* * *

Section 4. Section 27-3, Chapter 27, title "In General" of the Mont-
gomery County Code 1965, is hereby repealed and re-enacted, with amend-
ments, to read as follows:

27-3. Authority of council to provide for disability and death benefits
for members of fire departments and rescue squads; designation of board
to conduct hearings.

The council is hereby authorized and empowered to provide for the
payment of disability benefits for members of fire departments, fire com-
panies and fire and ambulance rescue squads operating in the county,
and for the payment of death benefits to their widows and to their children
where such members are injured or killed in the line of duty with such
fire department, fire company or fire or ambulance rescue squad; provided,
that the council may provide, by way of illustration and not by limitation,
for the implementation and administration of such disability and death
benefits, for minimum and maximum benefits payable thereunder, for the
source and funds from which such benefits shall be paid, and for rights of
subrogation in the county.

Section 5. Severability.

The provisions of this Act are severable and if any provision, sen-
tence, clause, section or part thereof is held illegal, invalid or uncon-
stitutional or inapplicable to any person or circumstances, such illegality,
invalidity or unconstitutionally, or inapplicability shall not affect or impair
any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses, sections or parts of
the act or their application to other persons or circumstances. It is
hereby declared to be the legislative intent that this Act would have