By Madla                                         S.B. No. 831

      75R6240 MCK-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to tuberculosis coverage for public safety employees.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 607.001, Government Code, is amended to

 1-5     read as follows:

 1-6           Sec. 607.001.  DEFINITIONS [DEFINITION].  In this chapter:[,]

 1-7                 (1)  "Public [public] safety employee" means a peace

 1-8     officer, fire fighter, or emergency medical services employee of

 1-9     the state or a political subdivision of the state.

1-10                 (2)  "Screening test" means a rapid analytical

1-11     laboratory or other procedure to determine the need for further

1-12     diagnostic evaluation.

1-13                 (3)  "Tuberculosis" means a disease caused by

1-14     Mycobacterium tuberculosis or other members of the Mycobacterium

1-15     tuberculosis complex.

1-16           SECTION 2.  Chapter 607, Government Code, is amended by

1-17     adding Section 607.005 to read as follows:

1-18           Sec. 607.005.  TUBERCULOSIS BENEFITS.  (a)  The state and

1-19     each political subdivision of the state shall provide annual

1-20     tuberculosis screening tests for its public safety employees.

1-21           (b)  It is presumed that a person who contracts tuberculosis

1-22     while employed as a public safety employee contracted the disease

1-23     during the course of employment.

1-24           (c)  The state or political subdivision of the state

 2-1     employing the public safety employee has the burden of rebutting

 2-2     the presumption that the employee contracted tuberculosis during

 2-3     the course of employment by clear and convincing evidence.

 2-4           (d)  The state or political subdivision of the state

 2-5     employing a public safety employee who contracts tuberculosis

 2-6     during the course of employment shall pay:

 2-7                 (1)  the medical expenses incurred by the employee in

 2-8     treating the disease that are not reimbursed or otherwise covered

 2-9     under any health benefit plan covering the employee; and

2-10                 (2)  the employee's salary, including pay for overtime

2-11     built into the normal work schedule, for work missed because of the

2-12     disease.

2-13           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-14     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-15     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-16     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-17     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

2-18     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

2-19     passage, and it is so enacted.