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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the eligibility of an injured employee for lifetime |
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income benefits under the workers' compensation system. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 408.161(a), Labor Code, is amended to |
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read as follows: |
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(a) Lifetime income benefits are paid until the death of the |
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employee for: |
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(1) total and permanent loss of sight in both eyes; |
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(2) loss of both feet at or above the ankle; |
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(3) loss of both hands at or above the wrist; |
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(4) loss of one foot at or above the ankle and the loss |
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of one hand at or above the wrist; |
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(5) an injury to the spine that results in permanent |
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and complete paralysis of both arms, both legs, or one arm and one |
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leg; |
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(6) a physically traumatic injury to the brain |
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resulting in permanent cognitive deficits that: |
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(A) render the employee permanently unemployable |
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without significant accommodations; or |
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(B) affect the non-vocational quality of the |
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employee's life so as to eliminate the employee's ability to engage |
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in a range of usual cognitive processes [incurable insanity or |
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imbecility]; [or] |
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(7) third degree burns that cover at least 40 percent |
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of the body and require grafting, or third degree burns covering the |
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majority of: |
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(A) [either] both hands; |
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(B) both feet; |
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(C) one hand and one foot; or |
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(D) one hand or foot and the face; or |
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(8) permanent and total disability as determined by |
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the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the United States Department of |
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Justice under the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Act of 1976 (34 |
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U.S.C. Section 10281 et seq.) if the employee is: |
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(A) a first responder as defined by Section |
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421.095, Government Code; and |
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(B) employed by a political subdivision that |
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self-insures, either individually or collectively. |
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SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply to a |
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claim for lifetime income benefits based on a compensable injury |
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that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. A claim |
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based on a compensable injury that occurs before the effective date |
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of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the |
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compensable injury occurred, and the former law is continued in |
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effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |