88R2760 RDS-F
 
  By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 102
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the recovery of exemplary damages based on a
  compensable death under the Texas Workers' Compensation Act.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  This Act may be cited as the Christion Fitzgerald
  Act.
         SECTION 2.  Section 408.001(b), Labor Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  This section does not prohibit the recovery of exemplary
  damages by the surviving spouse, [or] heirs of the body, or the
  estate of a deceased employee whose death was caused by an
  intentional act or omission of the employer or by the employer's
  gross negligence.
         SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to a claim for workers' compensation 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
  that date 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 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.