KLG C.S.S.B. 1107 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS C.S.S.B. 1107 APPROPRIATIONS By: Duncan (Oakley) 5-20-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Currently, certified on- or off-duty fire fighters who die while performing fire fighting duties for the public are ineligible for death benefits under Chapter 615, Government Code. Article III, Section 51-d of the Texas Constitution authorized the legislature to provide for assistance payments to "the surviving minor children" of certain officers of police and fire departments. The statute was recodified in 1973 as Article 6228f, V.T.C.S. The 73rd Legislature recodified Article 6228f, V.T.C.S., to Chapter 615, Government Code, and raised the death benefit from $20,000 to $50,000. C.S.S.B. 1107 would allow certified fire fighters who die while performing fire fighting duties for the public to become eligible for death benefits under this statute. PURPOSE As proposed, C.S.S.B. 1107 outlines provisions regarding the provision of financial assistance to survivors of certain law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and others. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY This bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 615.003, Government Code, to add to the list of individuals, a survivor of whom is eligible for benefits under this chapter, one who performs emergency medical services or operates an ambulance, is employed by a political subdivision of the state and is qualified as an emergency medical technician or at a higher level of training under Section 773.047, 773.048, and 773.049, Health and Safety Code. SECTION 2. Amends Section 615.021, Government Code, to provide that an individual employed by the state or a political or legal subdivision who is subject to certification by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection (commission) or whose principal duties are aircraft crash and rescue fire fighting is considered to have died in the course of performing the individual's duty in the individual's position as described by Section 615.003 as a result of exposure to risk that is inherent in the duty or to which the general public is not customarily exposed if the individual dies while actually performing an activity that the individual was certified to perform by the commission, without regard to whether the individual was actually performing the activity during the individual's compensable hours at work. Makes a conforming change. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute adds to the list of eligible survivors, those survivors of an individual who performs emergency medical services or operates an ambulance; is employed by a political subdivision of the state; and is qualified as an emergency medical technician or at a higher level of training under Section 773.047, 773.048 and 773.049, Health and Safety Code. The substitute also specifies that the survivor be a dependent parent or a dependent sibling of the listed individual. The substitute deletes the section of the engrossed bill that required payment of $50,000 to the estate of an individual listed if the individual died under the listed conditions. The substitute also deletes the provision that a person whose claim for payment to a sibling or to an estate is denied may appeal the denial to a district court in the county of residence of the sibling, to a district court in the county in which the decedent resided at the time of death, if the claim is for payment to an estate, or to a district court in Travis County.