By: Duncan S.B. No. 1107
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the provision of financial assistance to survivors of
1-2 certain law enforcement officers, firefighters, and others.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 615.003, Government Code, is amended to
1-5 read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 615.003. Applicability. This chapter applies only to
1-7 eligible survivors or the estates of the following individuals:
1-8 (1) an individual elected, appointed, or employed as a
1-9 peace officer by the state or a political subdivision of the state
1-10 under Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or other law;
1-11 (2) a paid probation officer appointed by the director
1-12 of a community supervision and corrections department who has the
1-13 duties set out in Section 2 and the qualifications set out in
1-14 Section 5, Article 42.131, Code of Criminal Procedure, or who was
1-15 appointed in accordance with prior law;
1-16 (3) a parole officer employed by the pardons and
1-17 paroles division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice who
1-18 has the duties set out in Section 2 and the qualifications set out
1-19 in Section 19, Article 42.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, or in
1-20 prior law;
1-21 (4) a paid jailer;
1-22 (5) a member of an organized police reserve or
1-23 auxiliary unit who regularly assists peace officers in enforcing
2-1 criminal laws;
2-2 (6) a member of the class of employees of the
2-3 institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
2-4 formally designated as custodial personnel under Section 615.006 by
2-5 the Texas Board of Criminal Justice or its predecessor in function;
2-6 (7) a jailer or guard of a county jail who is
2-7 appointed by the sheriff and who:
2-8 (A) performs a security, custodial, or
2-9 supervisory function over the admittance, confinement, or discharge
2-10 of prisoners; and
2-11 (B) is certified by the Texas Commission on Law
2-12 Enforcement Officer Standards and Education;
2-13 (8) a juvenile correctional employee of the Texas
2-14 Youth Commission;
2-15 (9) an employee of the Texas Department of Mental
2-16 Health and Mental Retardation who:
2-17 (A) works at the department's maximum security
2-18 unit; or
2-19 (B) performs on-site services for the Texas
2-20 Department of Criminal Justice;
2-21 (10) an individual who is employed by the state or a
2-22 political or legal subdivision and is subject to certification by
2-23 the Texas Commission on Fire Protection;
2-24 (11) an individual employed by the state or a
2-25 political or legal subdivision whose principal duties are aircraft
3-1 crash and rescue fire fighting; or
3-2 (12) a member of an organized volunteer fire-fighting
3-3 unit that:
3-4 (A) renders fire-fighting services without
3-5 remuneration;
3-6 (B) consists of not fewer than 20 active
3-7 members, a majority of whom [which] are present at each meeting;
3-8 and
3-9 (C) conducts a minimum of two drills each month,
3-10 each two hours long.
3-11 SECTION 2. The heading of Subchapter B, Chapter 615,
3-12 Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
3-13 SUBCHAPTER B. PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE SURVIVORS OR ESTATES
3-14 SECTION 3. Section 615.021, Government Code, is amended to
3-15 read as follows:
3-16 Sec. 615.021. Eligible Survivors. (a) A survivor of an
3-17 individual listed under Section 615.003 is eligible for the payment
3-18 of assistance under this chapter if:
3-19 (1) the listed individual died in the course of the
3-20 individual's duty performed in the individual's position as
3-21 described by Section 615.003 as a result of exposure to a risk:
3-22 (A) that is inherent in the duty; or
3-23 (B) to which the general public is not
3-24 customarily exposed; and
3-25 (2) the survivor is:
4-1 (A) the surviving spouse of the listed
4-2 individual;
4-3 (B) a minor child of the listed individual;
4-4 (C) a surviving parent of the listed individual,
4-5 if:
4-6 (i) there is no surviving spouse or minor
4-7 child; and
4-8 (ii) the parent was claimed as a dependent
4-9 on the income tax return filed with the Internal Revenue Service by
4-10 the listed individual in the year preceding the year in which the
4-11 listed individual died; or
4-12 (D) a surviving sibling of the listed individual
4-13 and is younger than 18 years of age, if:
4-14 (i) there is no surviving spouse or minor
4-15 child; and
4-16 (ii) the sibling was claimed as a
4-17 dependent on the income tax return filed with the Internal Revenue
4-18 Service by the listed individual in the year preceding the year in
4-19 which the listed individual died.
4-20 (b) An individual employed by the state or a political or
4-21 legal subdivision who is subject to certification by the Texas
4-22 Commission on Fire Protection or whose principal duties are
4-23 aircraft crash and rescue fire fighting is considered to have died
4-24 in the course of performing the individual's duty in the
4-25 individual's position as described by Section 615.003 as a result
5-1 of exposure to a risk that is inherent in the duty or to which the
5-2 general public is not customarily exposed if the individual died
5-3 while actually performing an activity that the individual was
5-4 certified to perform by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection,
5-5 without regard to whether the individual was actually performing
5-6 the activity during the individual's compensable hours at work.
5-7 SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 615, Government Code, is
5-8 amended by adding Section 615.026 to read as follows:
5-9 Sec. 615.026. PAYMENT TO ESTATE. The state shall pay
5-10 $50,000 to the estate of an individual listed under Section 615.003
5-11 if the listed individual:
5-12 (1) died in the course of the individual's duty
5-13 performed in the individual's position as described by Section
5-14 615.003 as a result of exposure to a risk:
5-15 (A) that is inherent in the duty; or
5-16 (B) to which the general public is not
5-17 customarily exposed; and
5-18 (2) is not survived by an individual eligible to
5-19 receive payments under this subchapter.
5-20 SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 615.044, Government Code,
5-21 is amended to read as follows:
5-22 (a) A person whose claim for payment to a surviving spouse,
5-23 minor child, or dependent parent or sibling or to an estate is
5-24 denied or the person's legal representative may appeal the denial
5-25 to a district court in [of] the county of residence of the
6-1 surviving spouse, minor child, or dependent parent or sibling, to a
6-2 district court in the county in which the decedent resided at the
6-3 time of death if the claim is for payment to an estate, or to a
6-4 district court in Travis County.
6-5 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
6-6 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-7 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-8 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-9 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-10 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
6-11 passage, and it is so enacted.