87R10562 RDS-F
 
  By: Birdwell, Hinojosa S.B. No. 1450
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the eligibility of an injured employee for lifetime
  income benefits under the workers' compensation system.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 408.161(a), Labor Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  Lifetime income benefits are paid until the death of the
  employee for:
               (1)  total and permanent loss of sight in both eyes;
               (2)  loss of both feet at or above the ankle;
               (3)  loss of both hands at or above the wrist;
               (4)  loss of one foot at or above the ankle and the loss
  of one hand at or above the wrist;
               (5)  an injury to the spine that results in permanent
  and complete paralysis of both arms, both legs, or one arm and one
  leg;
               (6)  a physically traumatic injury to the brain
  resulting in permanent cognitive deficits that:
                     (A)  render the employee permanently unemployable
  without significant accommodations; or 
                     (B)  affect the non-vocational quality of the
  employee's life so as to eliminate the employee's ability to engage
  in a range of usual cognitive processes [incurable insanity or
  imbecility]; [or]
               (7)  third degree burns that cover at least 40 percent
  of the body and require grafting, or third degree burns covering the
  majority of:
                     (A)  [either] both hands;
                     (B)  both feet;
                     (C)  one hand and one foot; or
                     (D)  one hand or foot and the face; or
               (8)  permanent and total disability as determined by
  the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the United States Department of
  Justice under the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Act of 1976 (34
  U.S.C. Section 10281 et seq.) if the employee is:
                     (A)  a first responder as defined by Section
  421.095, Government Code; and
                     (B)  employed by a political subdivision that
  self-insures, either individually or collectively.
         SECTION 2.  The changes in law made by this Act apply to a
  claim for lifetime income benefits based on a compensable injury
  that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. A claim
  based on a compensable injury that occurs before the effective date
  of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
  compensable injury occurred, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.