By: Wray, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Whitmire) H.B. No. 1983
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 1, 2017;
May 4, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on Business &
Commerce; May 21, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 21, 2017, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility of a first responder for workers'
compensation benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 504, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 504.019 to read as follows:
Sec. 504.019. COVERAGE FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
FOR CERTAIN FIRST RESPONDERS. (a) In this section:
(1) "First responder" means an individual employed by
a political subdivision of this state who is:
(A) a peace officer under Article 2.12, Code of
Criminal Procedure;
(B) a person licensed under Chapter 773, Health
and Safety Code, as an emergency care attendant, emergency medical
technician, emergency medical technician-intermediate, emergency
medical technician-paramedic, or licensed paramedic; or
(C) a firefighter subject to certification by the
Texas Commission on Fire Protection under Chapter 419, Government
Code, whose principal duties are firefighting and aircraft crash
and rescue.
(2) "Post-traumatic stress disorder" means a disorder
that meets the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress
disorder specified by the American Psychiatric Association in the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth
edition, or a later edition adopted by the commissioner of workers'
compensation.
(b) Post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by a first
responder is a compensable injury under this subtitle only if it is
based on a diagnosis that:
(1) the disorder is caused by an event occurring in the
course and scope of the first responder's employment; and
(2) the preponderance of the evidence indicates that
the event was a substantial contributing factor of the disorder.
SECTION 2. Section 408.006(b), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Notwithstanding Section 504.019, a [A] mental or
emotional injury that arises principally from a legitimate
personnel action, including a transfer, promotion, demotion, or
termination, is not a compensable injury under this subtitle.
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 as it existed 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, 2017.
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