By Tillery                                            H.B. No. 2194
         77R6057 KSD-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to benefits for certain disabled peace officers and county
 1-3     jailers.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  This Act shall be known as the Bill Biles Law.
 1-6           SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 56, Code of Criminal
 1-7     Procedure, is amended by adding Article 56.542 to read as follows:
 1-8           Art. 56.542.  PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN DISABLED PEACE OFFICERS
 1-9     AND COUNTY JAILERS. (a)  In this article:
1-10                 (1)  "County jailer" has the meaning assigned by
1-11     Section 1701.001, Occupations Code.
1-12                 (2)  "Peace officer" means an individual elected,
1-13     appointed, or employed to serve as a peace officer for a
1-14     governmental entity under Article 2.12 or other law.  The term
1-15     includes a former peace officer who because of an injury suffered
1-16     while performing duties as a peace officer is entitled to receive
1-17     payments under this article.
1-18           (b)  If a peace officer employed by the state or a local
1-19     governmental entity in this state or a county jailer sustains an
1-20     injury as a result of criminally injurious conduct on or after
1-21     September 1, 1989, in the performance of the officer's or jailer's
1-22     duties as a peace officer or county jailer and presents evidence
1-23     satisfactory to the attorney general that the officer's or jailer's
1-24     condition is a total disability resulting in permanent incapacity
 2-1     for work and that the total disability has persisted for more than
 2-2     12 months, the officer or jailer is entitled to an annual payment
 2-3     equal to the difference between:
 2-4                 (1)  any amounts received by the officer or jailer on
 2-5     account of the injury or disability from other sources of income,
 2-6     including insurance benefits, federal disability benefits, workers'
 2-7     compensation benefits, and benefits from another governmental
 2-8     entity, if those amounts do not exceed the amount described by
 2-9     Subdivision (2); and
2-10                 (2)  an amount equal to the officer's or jailer's
2-11     average annual salary during the officer's or jailer's final three
2-12     years as a peace officer or county jailer.
2-13           (c)  The amount of the payment under Subsection (b) is
2-14     subject to an annual cost of living adjustment computed by the
2-15     attorney general.  The attorney general shall compute the amount of
2-16     the cost of living adjustment by multiplying the amount of the
2-17     annual payment received by the peace officer or county jailer under
2-18     this section during the previous year times the percentage by which
2-19     the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the
2-20     Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of
2-21     Labor, or its successor index, increased during the previous
2-22     calendar year.
2-23           (d)  The attorney general shall compute the amount of an
2-24     initial payment based on an injury suffered after September 1,
2-25     1989, by:
2-26                 (1)  computing the amount to which the officer or
2-27     jailer is entitled under Subsection (b); and
 3-1                 (2)  adding to that amount the cumulative successive
 3-2     cost of living adjustments for the intervening years computed from
 3-3     the date of the injury.
 3-4           (e)  To receive a payment under this section, a peace officer
 3-5     or county jailer must furnish to the attorney general:
 3-6                 (1)  proof the injury was sustained in the performance
 3-7     of the applicant's duties as an officer or jailer and is a total
 3-8     disability resulting in permanent incapacity for work; and
 3-9                 (2)  other information or evidence the attorney general
3-10     requires.
3-11           (f)  The attorney general may approve the application without
3-12     a hearing or may conduct a hearing under Article 56.40.  The
3-13     decision of the attorney general is subject to judicial review
3-14     under Article 56.48.
3-15           (g)  The attorney general may appoint a panel of physicians
3-16     to periodically review each application for assistance under this
3-17     article to ensure the validity of the application and the necessity
3-18     of continued assistance to the peace officer or county jailer.
3-19           (h)  The attorney general shall notify the comptroller of the
3-20     attorney general's determination that a claim under this section is
3-21     valid and justifies payment.  On receipt of the notice, the
3-22     comptroller shall issue a warrant to or in behalf of the claimant
3-23     in the proper amount from amounts in the compensation to victims of
3-24     crime fund.  A payment under this section to or in behalf of a
3-25     peace officer or county jailer is payable as soon as possible after
3-26     the attorney general notifies the comptroller.
3-27           (i)  The attorney general and the comptroller by rule shall
 4-1     adopt a memorandum of understanding to establish procedures under
 4-2     which annual payments continue to a peace officer or county jailer
 4-3     until continued assistance is no longer necessary.
 4-4           (j)  Article 56.37 does not apply to the filing of an
 4-5     application under this article.  Other provisions of this chapter
 4-6     apply to this article to the extent applicable and consistent with
 4-7     this article.
 4-8           (k)  The limits on compensation imposed by Article 56.42 do
 4-9     not apply to payments made under this article.
4-10           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.