HB 1339 would amend Section 615.0225 of the Government Code.  This section relates to educational benefits granted to survivors of public employees killed in the line of public service.  The bill would change the definition of a child from being any child claimed as a dependent for purposes of Federal taxation to any “minor child” as defined in section 615.001;  this would ensure that the child was younger than 18 at the date of the death of the employee.   

According to the bill, to be eligible for education benefits as a survivor, a child must have been younger than 18 years old at the time of the employee’s death if that death occurred after September 10, 2001.  This retroactive rule relates to education benefits for any semester beginning or after Fall 2007.

The bill would not have an actuarial impact because it does not affect the funding or benefits of any public retirement system.