By: Springer, et al. S.B. No. 22
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to certain claims for benefits or compensation by certain
  public safety employees.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 607.002, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 607.002.  REIMBURSEMENT.  (a)  A public safety employee
  who is exposed to a contagious disease is entitled to reimbursement
  from the employing governmental entity for reasonable medical
  expenses incurred in treatment for the prevention of the disease
  if:
               (1)  the disease is not an "ordinary disease of life" as
  that term is used in the context of a workers' compensation claim;
               (2)  the exposure to the disease occurs during the
  course of the employment; and
               (3)  the employee requires preventative medical
  treatment because of exposure to the disease.
         (b)  For purposes of this section, a disease is not an
  "ordinary disease of life" if the disease is the basis for a
  disaster declared by the governor under Section 418.014 for all or
  part of the state.
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Subchapter B, Chapter 607,
  Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER B. DISEASES OR ILLNESSES SUFFERED BY DETENTION
  OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS, PEACE OFFICERS, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL
  TECHNICIANS
         SECTION 3.  Section 607.051, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as
  follows:
               (1)  "Detention officer" means:
                     (A)  a corrections officer employed by the Texas
  Department of Criminal Justice; or
                     (B)  a person employed as a county jail guard
  under Section 85.005, Local Government Code, and licensed under
  Chapter 1701, Occupations Code.
               (1-a)  "Disability" means partial or total disability.
         SECTION 4.  Sections 607.052(a), (b), (e), and (g),
  Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Notwithstanding any other law, this subchapter applies
  only to a detention officer, firefighter, peace officer, or
  emergency medical technician who:
               (1)  on becoming employed or during employment as a
  detention officer, 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,
  except for purposes of the presumption under Section 607.0545; and
               (3)  seeks benefits or compensation for a disease or
  illness covered by this subchapter that is discovered during
  employment as a detention officer, 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 detention officer, 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 detention officer, 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 detention officer, 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 detention officer,
  firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician who
  provides services as an employee of an entity created by an
  interlocal agreement.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter B, Chapter 607, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 607.0545 to read as follows:
         Sec. 607.0545.  DISEASES THAT CAUSE A DISASTER DECLARATION.
  (a)  A detention officer, firefighter, peace officer, or emergency
  medical technician who contracts a disease that is the basis for a
  disaster declared by the governor under Section 418.014 or other
  law for all or part of the state that results in death or total or
  partial disability is presumed to have contracted the disease
  during the course and scope of employment as a detention officer,
  firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician if the
  detention officer, firefighter, peace officer, or emergency
  medical technician:
               (1)  is employed in the area designated in the disaster
  declaration; and
               (2)  contracts the disease during the disaster declared
  by the governor.
         (b)  The presumption under this section applies only to a
  claim for benefits or compensation filed before the first
  anniversary of the date the state of disaster described by
  Subsection (a) is terminated.
         SECTION 6.  Section 607.057, Government Code, is 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 detention
  officer's, 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.
         SECTION 7.  Section 607.058, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 607.058.  PRESUMPTION REBUTTABLE. (a) A presumption
  under Section 607.053, 607.054, 607.0545, 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 detention officer, firefighter,
  peace officer, or emergency medical technician was a substantial
  factor in bringing about the individual's disease or illness,
  without which the disease or illness would not have occurred.
         (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 detention officer, firefighter, peace officer, or
  emergency medical technician was a substantial factor in bringing
  about the individual's disease or illness, without which the
  disease or illness would not have occurred.
         (c)  In addressing an argument based on a rebuttal offered
  under this section, an administrative law judge shall make findings
  of fact and conclusions of law that consider whether a qualified
  expert, relying on evidence-based medicine, stated the opinion
  that, based on reasonable medical probability, an identified risk
  factor, accident, hazard, or other cause not associated with the
  individual's service as a detention officer, firefighter, or
  emergency medical technician was a substantial factor in bringing
  about the individual's disease or illness, without which the
  disease or illness would not have occurred.
         SECTION 8.  Section 409.022(d), Labor Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (d)  In this subsection, the terms "detention officer,"
  "emergency medical technician," "firefighter," and "peace officer"
  have the meanings assigned by Section 607.051, Government Code. In
  addition to the other requirements of this section, if an insurance
  carrier's notice of refusal to pay benefits under Section 409.021
  is sent in response to a claim for compensation resulting from a
  detention officer's, an emergency medical technician's, a
  firefighter's, or a peace officer's disability or death for which a
  presumption is claimed to be applicable under Subchapter B, Chapter
  607, Government Code, the notice must include a statement by the
  carrier that:
               (1)  explains why the carrier determined a presumption
  under that subchapter does not apply to the claim for compensation;
  and
               (2)  describes the evidence that the carrier reviewed
  in making the determination described by Subdivision (1).
         SECTION 9.  (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply to
  a claim for benefits, compensation, or assistance pending on or
  filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A claim for
  benefits, compensation, or assistance filed before that date, other
  than a claim pending on that date, is covered by the law in effect on
  the date the claim was made, and that law is continued in effect for
  that purpose.
         (b)  Notwithstanding any other law, a person who on or after
  the date the governor declared a disaster under Chapter 418,
  Government Code, relating to SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus disease 2019
  (COVID-19), but before the effective date of this Act, contracted
  SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), may file a claim
  for benefits, compensation, or assistance related to SARS-CoV-2,
  coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), on or after the effective date
  of this Act, regardless of whether that claim is otherwise
  considered untimely and the changes in law made by this Act apply to
  that claim.
         (c)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a) of this section or
  Sections 409.003, 410.169, or 410.205, Labor Code, a person who on
  or after the date the governor declared a disaster under Chapter
  418, Government Code, relating to SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus disease
  2019 (COVID-19), but before the effective date of this Act, filed a
  claim for benefits, compensation, or assistance related to
  SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and whose claim
  was subsequently denied may, on or after the effective date of this
  Act, request in writing that the insurance carrier reprocess the
  claim and the changes in law made by this Act shall apply to that
  claim.  A request to reprocess a claim as authorized by this
  subsection shall be filed not later than six months after the
  effective date of this Act.
         (d)  Not later than the 60th day after the date an insurance
  carrier receives a written request to reprocess a claim under
  Subsection (c) of this section, the insurance carrier shall
  reprocess the claim and notify the person in writing whether the
  carrier accepted or denied the claim.  If the insurance carrier
  denies the claim, the notice must include information on the
  process for disputing the denial. The notice provided by the
  insurance carrier must use the notice provisions prescribed by the
  division of workers' compensation of the Texas Department of
  Insurance under Subsection (e) of this section.
         (e)  As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
  Act, the division of workers' compensation of the Texas Department
  of Insurance shall prescribe notice provisions for an insurance
  carrier to use when providing notice of the insurance carrier's
  acceptance or denial of a person's claim.  The notice provisions
  must be clear and easily understandable.
         SECTION 10.  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, 2021.