(a) For purposes of this Section 16.72-1, the term "Sheriff Member" shall mean (1) any Sheriff who assumed office on and after January 7, 2012, and (2) any undersheriff or deputized personnel of the Sheriff's Department hired on and after January 7, 2012.
(b) Subject to the limitations of subsections (c) and (d), whenever any Sheriff Member becomes incapacitated for the performance of his or her duty by reason of cancer that develops or manifests itself while the Sheriff Member is in the service of the Sheriff's Department, the cancer shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of his or her employment. This presumption is disputable and may be controverted by evidence that the primary site of the cancer has been established and that the carcinogen to which the Sheriff Member has demonstrated exposure as required by subsection (d)(1) below is not reasonably linked to the disabling cancer.
(c) The presumption in subsection (b) shall apply only to:
(1) A Sheriff Member who has served a total of five or more years in the Sheriff's Department. For purposes of determining whether the Sheriff Member has five or more years of service, time served in a deputized position in another sheriff department in the State of California shall be combined with service in the Sheriff's Department, provided that the Sheriff Member: (A) was entitled to the same cancer presumption in his or her prior employment; and (B) became a member of the Sheriff's Department within six months of separating from the prior sheriff department employment.
(2) Applications for industrial disability or death as a result of duty benefits under the San Francisco City and County Employees' Retirement System ("Retirement System").
(3) Applications for benefits in connection with cancer injuries or deaths filed on or after January 7, 2012, except that the presumption shall not apply to such an application if as of the effective date of this Section 16.72-1, the hearing officer assigned to hear the application under Charter Section 12.102 and Charter Section A8.518 either: (A) has rendered his or her initial decision on the application and the Sheriff Member did not request rehearing within the time specified under the Charter: or (B) has rendered an initial decision and the Sheriff Member timely requested rehearing under the Charter, and the hearing officer has issued a decision on rehearing.
(d) The presumption in subsection (b) shall apply only if:
(1) The Sheriff Member demonstrates exposure, while in the service of the Sheriff's Department, to a known carcinogen as defined by the International Agency for Research on Cancer; and
(2) There was no evidence of cancer identified in the physical examination of the Sheriff Member conducted as part of his or her initial hire in the Sheriff's Department.
(e) The Retirement System shall use the Sheriff Member's eligible prior safety service in another sheriff department in California under subsection (c)(1) to measure the date upon which the Sheriff Member would be qualified for service retirement.