Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §8102, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1995, c. 196, Pt. D, §1, is further amended to read:

1. Employee. "Employee" means a person acting on behalf of a governmental entity in any official capacity, whether temporarily or permanently, and whether with or without compensation from local, state or federal funds, including elected or appointed officials; volunteer firefighters as defined in Title 30-A, section 3151; emergency medical service personnel; members and staff of the Consumer Advisory Board pursuant to Title 34-B, section 1216; members of the Maine National Guard but only while performing state active service pursuant to Title 37-B; and sheriffs' deputies as defined in Title 30-A, section 381 when they are serving orders pursuant to section 3135,; and persons while performing a search and rescue activity when requested by a state, county or local governmental entity, but the term "employee" does not mean a person or other legal entity acting in the capacity of an independent contractor under contract to the governmental entity.

Sec. 2. 39-A MRSA §102, sub-§11, ķA, as amended by PL 2001, c. 710, §18 and affected by §19, is further amended by amending subparagraph (2) to read:

(2) Firefighters, including volunteer firefighters who are active members of a volunteer fire association as defined in Title 30-A, section 3151; volunteer emergency medical services persons as defined in Title 32, section 83, subsection 12; a person, whether paid or unpaid while performing a search and rescue activity when requested by a state, county or local governmental entity; and police officers are employees within the meaning of this Act. In computing the average weekly wage of an injured volunteer firefighter or volunteer emergency services person, the average weekly wage must be taken to be the earning capacity of the injured employee in the occupation in which the employee is regularly engaged. Employers who hire workers within this State to work outside the State may agree with these workers that the remedies under this Act are exclusive as regards injuries received outside this State arising out of and in the course of that employment; and all contracts of hiring in this State, unless otherwise specified, are presumed to include such an agreement. Any reference to an employee who has been injured must, when the employee is dead, include the employee's legal representatives, dependents and other persons to whom compensation may be payable;