82R11775 JSC-D
By: Coleman H.B. No. 3495
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to workers' compensation death benefit eligibility for
certain spouses of peace officers killed in the line of duty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 408.183, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to read as follows:
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), an eligible spouse
who remarried is eligible for death benefits if:
(1) the employee was a peace officer under Article
2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, who was killed in the line of
duty; and
(2) the spouse's remarriage ended as a result of
divorce or death.
(b-2) Death benefits under Subsection (b-1) begin on the day
after the date the remarriage ended and continue for life or until a
subsequent remarriage. On subsequent remarriage, the eligible
spouse is entitled to receive 104 weeks of death benefits, commuted
as provided by commissioner rule.
SECTION 2. Section 408.184, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (b-1) and (d) to read as follows:
(b-1) If a spouse described by Section 408.183(b-1) becomes
eligible for benefits on the end of the spouse's remarriage, the
spouse's benefits shall be resumed and the benefits payable to any
other legal beneficiaries shall be adjusted accordingly.
(d) If, after the insurance carrier pays an amount to the
subsequent injury fund under Subsection (c), a spouse becomes
eligible for benefits under Section 408.183(b-1), the insurance
carrier may request reimbursement from the subsequent injury fund
for amounts paid to the spouse. The total reimbursement to the
insurance carrier under this subsection may not exceed the total
amount the insurance carrier paid to the subsequent injury fund for
that claim under Subsection (c).
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
408.183 and 408.184, Labor Code, apply 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, 2011.