79R5047 MXM-D
By: Goolsby H.B. No. 865
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to benefits for survivors of certain members of the United
States armed forces.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 466.408(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) If a claim is not made for prize money on or before the
180th day after the date on which the winner was selected, the prize
money shall be used in the following order of priority:
(1) payment of benefits under Subchapter G, Chapter
615;
(2) subject to legislative appropriation, not more
than $20 million in prize money each year may be deposited to or
appropriated from the [Texas] Department of State Health Services
state-owned multicategorical teaching hospital account, which is
an account in the general revenue fund;
(3) [(2)] not more than $5 million in prize money each
year may be appropriated to the Health and Human Services
Commission and shall be used to support the provision of inpatient
hospital services in hospitals located in the 15 counties that
comprise the Texas-Mexico border area, with payment for those
services to be not less than the amount established under the Tax
Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) cost
reimbursement methodology for the hospital providing the services;
and
(4) [(3)] all prize money subject to this section and
not appropriated [from the Texas Department of Health state-owned
multicategorical teaching hospital account or not appropriated to
the Health and Human Services Commission] for a [the] purpose
specified in Subdivisions (1)-(3) [Subdivision (2)] shall be
deposited in the general revenue fund and may be appropriated for
any purpose as determined by the legislature, including the
provision of indigent health care services as specified in Chapter
61, Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 2. Section 481.078, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
follows:
(c) Except as provided by Subsections (c-1) and
[Subsection] (d), the fund may be used only for economic
development, infrastructure development, community development,
job training programs, and business incentives.
(c-1) The fund shall be used to pay benefits under
Subchapter G, Chapter 615, to the extent that unclaimed lottery
prizes under Section 466.408 are insufficient to pay for the
benefits.
SECTION 3. Section 615.003, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 615.003. APPLICABILITY. (a) This chapter applies
only to eligible survivors of the following individuals:
(1) an individual elected, appointed, or employed as a
peace officer by the state or a political subdivision of the state
under Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or other law;
(2) a paid probation officer appointed by the director
of a community supervision and corrections department who has the
duties set out in Section 76.002 and the qualifications set out in
Section 76.005, or who was appointed in accordance with prior law;
(3) a parole officer employed by the pardons and
paroles division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice who
has the duties set out in Section 508.001 and the qualifications set
out in Section 508.113 or in prior law;
(4) a paid jailer;
(5) a member of an organized police reserve or
auxiliary unit who regularly assists peace officers in enforcing
criminal laws;
(6) a member of the class of employees of the
institutional division or the state jail division of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice formally designated as custodial
personnel under Section 615.006 by the Texas Board of Criminal
Justice or its predecessor in function;
(7) a jailer or guard of a county jail who is appointed
by the sheriff and who:
(A) performs a security, custodial, or
supervisory function over the admittance, confinement, or
discharge of prisoners; and
(B) is certified by the Commission on Law
Enforcement Officer Standards and Education;
(8) a juvenile correctional employee of the Texas
Youth Commission;
(9) an employee of the [Texas] Department of State
Health Services or the Department of Aging and Disability Services
[Mental Health and Mental Retardation] who:
(A) works at the Department of State Health
Services' [department's] maximum security unit; or
(B) performs on-site services for the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice;
(10) an individual who is employed by the state or a
political or legal subdivision and is subject to certification by
the Texas Commission on Fire Protection;
(11) an individual employed by the state or a
political or legal subdivision whose principal duties are aircraft
crash and rescue fire fighting;
(12) a member of an organized volunteer fire-fighting
unit that:
(A) renders fire-fighting services without
remuneration; and
(B) conducts a minimum of two drills each month,
each two hours long;
(13) an individual who:
(A) performs emergency medical services or
operates an ambulance;
(B) is employed by a political subdivision of the
state or is an emergency medical services volunteer as defined by
Section 773.003, Health and Safety Code; and
(C) is qualified as an emergency care attendant
or at a higher level of training under Section 773.046, 773.047,
773.048, 773.049, or 773.0495, Health and Safety Code; or
(14) an individual who is employed or formally
designated as a chaplain for:
(A) an organized volunteer fire-fighting unit or
other fire department of this state or of a political subdivision of
this state;
(B) a law enforcement agency of this state or of a
political subdivision of this state; or
(C) the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
(b) In addition to eligible survivors of individuals
described by Subsection (a), this chapter applies as provided by
Subchapter G to eligible survivors of an individual who is a
resident of this state and a member of the United States armed
forces serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.
SECTION 4. Chapter 615, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter G to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER G. BENEFITS FOR SURVIVORS OF
CERTAIN MILITARY VETERANS
Sec. 615.151. DEFINITION. For purposes of this subchapter,
"eligible survivor" means a person designated as a beneficiary of a
deceased individual's military life insurance policy.
Sec. 615.152. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
to eligible survivors of an individual described by Section
615.003(b) who died in the line of duty in Afghanistan or Iraq after
September 11, 2001.
Sec. 615.153. PAYMENT TO ELIGIBLE SURVIVOR. The state
shall pay $50,000 to the eligible survivor of an individual or the
appropriate pro rata portion of that amount to the eligible
survivors of the individual.
Sec. 615.154. APPLICATION FOR AND PAYMENT OF BENEFITS. The
board of trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas shall
adopt rules, based to the extent applicable on Subchapter C and
rules and procedures adopted under Subchapter C, for making and
proving a claim and receiving benefits under this subchapter.
Sec. 615.155. LIMITED BENEFITS. An eligible survivor of an
individual described by Section 615.003(b) is not eligible for any
other benefits under this chapter unless the survivor is otherwise
eligible as a survivor of an individual described by Section
615.003(a).
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.