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78R4989 YDB-D
By: Allen H.B. No. 959
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the benefits provided to the survivors of certain
public employees killed in the line of duty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 615.021, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (d) and (e)
to read as follows:
(a) A survivor of an individual listed under Section 615.003
is eligible for the payment of assistance under this chapter if:
(1) the listed individual died as a result of a
personal injury sustained in the line of duty [in the course of the
individual's duty performed] in the individual's position as
described by Section 615.003 [as a result of exposure to a risk:
[(A) that is inherent in the duty; or
[(B) to which the general public is not
customarily exposed]; and
(2) the survivor is:
(A) the surviving spouse of the listed
individual;
(B) a surviving child of the listed individual,
if there is no surviving spouse; or
(C) a surviving parent of the listed individual,
if there is no surviving spouse or child.
(c) An individual employed by the state or a political or
legal subdivision who is subject to certification by the Texas
Commission on Fire Protection or whose principal duties are
aircraft crash and rescue fire fighting is considered to have died
as a result of a personal injury sustained in the line of [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
a risk that is inherent in the duty or to which the general public is
not customarily exposed] if the individual died while actually
performing an activity that the individual was certified to perform
by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection, without regard to
whether the individual was actually performing the activity during
the individual's compensable hours at work.
(d) In a determination of whether the survivor of an
individual listed under Section 615.003 is eligible for the payment
of assistance under this chapter, any reasonable doubt arising from
the circumstances of the individual's death shall be resolved in
favor of the payment of assistance to the survivor.
(e) In this section:
(1) "Personal injury" means a traumatic injury
resulting from an external force or a disease caused by or resulting
from a traumatic injury from an external force.
(2) "Line of duty" means an action an individual
listed under Section 615.003 is required or authorized by rule,
condition of employment, or law to perform. The term includes an
action by the individual at a social, ceremonial, athletic, or
other function to which the individual is assigned by the
individual's employer.
SECTION 2. Section 615.072, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 615.072. ELIGIBLE SURVIVORS. (a) A survivor of an
individual listed under Section 615.071 is eligible for the health
insurance benefits provided under this subchapter if:
(1) the listed individual died as a result of a
personal injury sustained in the line of duty [in the course of the
individual's duty performed] in the individual's position as
described by Section 615.071 [as a result of exposure to a risk:
[(A) that is inherent in the duty; or
[(B) to which the general public is not
customarily exposed]; and
(2) the survivor is:
(A) the surviving spouse of the listed
individual; or
(B) a dependent of the listed individual.
(b) In a determination of whether the survivor of an
individual listed under Section 615.071 is eligible for the payment
of assistance under this subchapter, any reasonable doubt arising
from the circumstances of the individual's death shall be resolved
in favor of the payment of assistance to the survivor.
(c) In this section:
(1) "Personal injury" means a traumatic injury
resulting from an external force or a disease caused by or resulting
from a traumatic injury from an external force.
(2) "Line of duty" means an action an individual
listed under Section 615.071 is required or authorized by rule,
condition of employment, or law to perform. The term includes an
action by the individual at a social, ceremonial, athletic, or
other function to which the individual is assigned by the
individual's employer.
SECTION 3. Section 615.105(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) On the death of an individual listed in Subsection (a),
regardless of whether the individual died as a result of a personal
injury sustained in the line [in the course] of duty as a peace
officer, the individual's next of kin may receive on request a state
flag from the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and
Education.
SECTION 4. Section 615.121, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(f) In this section, "line of duty" has the meaning assigned
by Section 615.021.
SECTION 5. Section 811.001, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (12) and adding Subdivision (12-a) to read as
follows:
(12) "Occupational [death or] disability" means
[death or] disability from an injury or disease that directly
results from a specific act or occurrence determinable by a
definite time and place, and directly results from a risk or a
hazard peculiar to and inherent in a duty that arises from and in
the course of state employment.
(12-a) "Occupational death" means death from a
traumatic injury resulting from an external force or a disease
caused by or resulting from a traumatic injury from an external
force that directly results from any action a person is required or
authorized by rule, condition of employment, or law to perform. The
term includes an action performed by the person at a social,
ceremonial, athletic, or other function to which the person is
assigned by the person's employer.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
615.021, 615.072, 615.105, 615.121, and 811.001, Government Code,
relating to the death of certain public servants apply only in
relation to a death that occurs on or after the effective date of
this Act. Matters regarding eligibility, payment, and benefits
under Sections 615.021, 615.072, 615.105, 615.121, and 811.001,
Government Code, in relation to a death that occurs before the
effective date of this Act are governed by the law in effect when
the death occurs, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.