H.B. No. 1058
AN ACT
relating to the receipt of death benefits in the workers'
compensation system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 408.182(d-1), (d-2), and (f), Labor
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(d-1) If there is no eligible spouse, no eligible child, and
no eligible grandchild, and there are no surviving dependents of
the deceased employee who are parents, siblings, or grandparents of
the deceased, the death benefits shall be paid in equal shares to
surviving eligible parents of the deceased. A payment of death
benefits made under this subsection may not exceed one payment per
household. Total payments under this section [and] may not exceed
104 weeks regardless of the number of surviving eligible parents.
(d-2) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, to
be eligible to receive death benefits under Subsection (d-1), an
eligible parent must file with the division a claim for those
benefits not later than the first anniversary of the date of the
injured employee's death from the compensable injury. The claim
must designate all eligible parents and necessary information for
payment to the eligible parents. The insurance carrier is not
liable for payment to any eligible parent not designated on the
claim. Failure to file a claim in the time required bars the claim
unless good cause exists for the failure to file a claim under this
section [The commissioner may extend the time for filing a claim
under this subsection only if the eligible parent submits proof
satisfactory to the commissioner of a compelling reason for the
delay].
(f) In this section:
(1) "Eligible child" means a child of a deceased
employee if the child is:
(A) a minor;
(B) enrolled as a full-time student in an
accredited educational institution and is less than 25 years of
age; or
(C) a dependent of the deceased employee at the
time of the employee's death.
(2) "Eligible grandchild" means a grandchild of a
deceased employee who is a dependent of the deceased employee and
whose parent is not an eligible child.
(3) "Eligible spouse" means the surviving spouse of a
deceased employee unless the spouse abandoned the employee for
longer than the year immediately preceding the death without good
cause, as determined by the division.
(4) "Eligible parent" means the mother or the father
of a deceased employee, including an adoptive parent or a
stepparent[, who receives burial benefits under Section
408.186]. The term does not include a parent whose parental rights
have been terminated.
SECTION 2. 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 that the
compensable injury occurred, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1058 was passed by the House on May 1,
2009, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1058 was passed by the Senate on May
21, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor