Amend CSSB 2551 (house committee report) as follows:

(1)  Adding the following appropriately numbered SECTIONS to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:

SECTION ____.  The heading to Subchapter B, Chapter 607, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER B. DISEASES OR ILLNESSES SUFFERED BY FIREFIGHTERS, PEACE OFFICERS, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS

SECTION ____.  Section 607.051, Government Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (4) to read as follows:

SECTION ____.  Sections 607.052(a), (b), (e), (g), and (h), Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a)  Notwithstanding any other law, this subchapter applies only to a firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician who:

(1)  on becoming employed or during employment as a firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician, received a physical examination that failed to reveal evidence of the illness or disease for which benefits or compensation are sought using a presumption established by this subchapter;

(2)  is employed for five or more years as a firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician; and

(3)  seeks benefits or compensation for a disease or illness covered by this subchapter that is discovered during employment as a firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician.

(b)  A presumption under this subchapter does not apply:

(1)  to a determination of a survivor's eligibility for benefits under Chapter 615;

(2)  in a cause of action brought in a state or federal court except for judicial review of a proceeding in which there has been a grant or denial of employment-related benefits or compensation;

(3)  to a determination regarding benefits or compensation under a life or disability insurance policy purchased by or on behalf of the firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician that provides coverage in addition to any benefits or compensation required by law; or

(4)  if the disease or illness for which benefits or compensation is sought is known to be caused by the use of tobacco and:

(A)  the firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician is or has been a user of tobacco; or

(B)  the firefighter's, peace officer's, or emergency medical technician's spouse has, during the marriage, been a user of tobacco that is consumed through smoking.

(e)  A firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician who uses a presumption established under this subchapter is entitled only to the benefits or compensation to which the firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician would otherwise be entitled to receive at the time the claim for benefits or compensation is filed.

(g)  This subchapter applies to a firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician who provides services as an employee of an entity created by an interlocal agreement.

(h)  Subsection (b)(4) only prevents the application of the presumption authorized by this subchapter and does not affect the right of a firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician to provide proof, without the use of that presumption, that an injury or illness occurred during the course and scope of employment.

SECTION ____.  Sections 607.057 and 607.058, Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

Sec. 607.057.  EFFECT OF PRESUMPTION. Except as provided by Section 607.052(b), a presumption established under this subchapter applies to a determination of whether a firefighter's, peace officer's, or emergency medical technician's disability or death resulted from a disease or illness contracted in the course and scope of employment for purposes of benefits or compensation provided under another employee benefit, law, or plan, including a pension plan.

Sec. 607.058.  PRESUMPTION REBUTTABLE. (a) A presumption under Section 607.053, 607.054, 607.055, or 607.056 may be rebutted through a showing by a preponderance of the evidence that a risk factor, accident, hazard, or other cause not associated with the individual's service as a firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician caused the individual's disease or illness.

(b)  A rebuttal offered under this section must include a statement by the person offering the rebuttal that describes, in detail, the evidence that the person reviewed before making the determination that a cause not associated with the individual's service as a firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician caused the individual's disease or illness.

(2)  On page 1, line 7, between "firefighter" and "or", insert ", peace officer,".

(3)  On page 1, line 10, between "firefighter" and "or", insert ", peace officer,".

(4)  On page 1, line 12, between "firefighter" and "or", insert ", peace officer,".

(5)  On page 1, line 17, between "firefighter" and "or", insert ", peace officer,".

(6)  On page 4, line 7, between "firefighter" and "or", insert ", peace officer,".