87(R) SB 22 - Enrolled version - Bill Text

	S.B.  No.  22

	AN ACT
	relating to certain claims for benefits, compensation, or
	assistance by certain public safety employees and survivors of
	certain public safety employees.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION  1.    The heading to Subchapter B, Chapter 607,
	Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER B. DISEASES OR ILLNESSES SUFFERED BY DETENTION
	OFFICERS, CUSTODIAL OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS, PEACE OFFICERS, AND
	EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS
	SECTION  2.    Section 607.051, Government Code, is amended by
	amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (1-a) and (1-b) to
	read as follows:
	(1)    "Custodial officer" means a person who is employed
	by the Board of Pardons and Paroles or the Texas Department of
	Criminal Justice as a parole officer or caseworker or who is
	employed by the correctional institutions division of the Texas
	Department of Criminal Justice and certified by the department as
	having a normal job assignment that requires frequent or infrequent
	regularly planned contact with, and in close proximity to, inmates
	or defendants of the correctional institutions division without the
	protection of bars, doors, security screens, or similar devices and
	includes assignments normally involving supervision or the
	potential for supervision of inmates in inmate housing areas,
	educational or recreational facilities, industrial shops,
	kitchens, laundries, medical areas, agricultural shops or fields,
	or in other areas on or away from property of the department.
	(1-a)    "Detention officer" means an individual
	employed by a state agency or political subdivision of the state to
	ensure the safekeeping of prisoners and the security of a
	municipal, county, or state penal institution in this state.
	(1-b)    "Disability" means partial or total disability.
	SECTION  3.    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, custodial officer, firefighter, peace
	officer, or emergency medical technician who:
	(1)    on becoming employed or during employment as a
	detention officer, custodial 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 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, custodial 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, custodial 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, custodial 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,
	custodial 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.
	&