86R6336 YDB-F
By: Flores S.B. No. 1396
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to claims for financial assistance for survivors of
certain public employees killed in the line of duty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 615.041, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 615.041. CONSIDERATION AND DETERMINATION [PROOF] OF
CLAIM; COMPELLED COMPLIANCE. (a) As soon as practicable after
the death of an individual listed under Section 615.003 that occurs
in the performance of duties in the individual's position as
described by Section 615.003 or as a result of an action that occurs
while the individual is performing those duties [is claimed to meet
the requirements of Section 615.021(1)], the individual's
employing entity shall furnish to the board of trustees of the
Employees Retirement System of Texas proof of the death in the form
and with additional evidence and information required by the board.
(b) The board of trustees shall consider the proof,
evidence, and information provided under Subsection (a) and
determine whether the individual's death satisfies the eligibility
requirements established under Section 615.021(a)(1) and justifies
the payment of assistance to the individual's eligible survivors
under this chapter.
(c) If the individual's employing entity fails to comply
with Subsection (a), the attorney general may use any means
authorized by law, including filing suit for a writ of mandamus
against the employer, to compel the employer's compliance with this
section.
SECTION 2. Section 615.041, Government Code, as amended by
this Act, applies to the payment of assistance in connection with a
death that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. The
payment of assistance in connection with a death that occurs before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.