87R4584 KKR-D
By: Patterson H.B. No. 541
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a presumption in regard to the eligibility of public
safety employees who have contracted coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) for certain benefits.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 607, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 607.0541 to read as follows:
Sec. 607.0541. CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19). A public
safety employee who suffers from coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
resulting in disability or death is presumed to have contracted the
disease during the course and scope of employment as a public safety
employee.
SECTION 2. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
section, Section 607.0541, Government Code, as added by this Act,
applies only to a claim for benefits or compensation filed on or
after the effective date of this Act. A claim filed before that
date is governed by the law as it existed on the date the claim was
filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) A person who on or after February 1, 2020, but before the
effective date of this Act, filed a claim for benefits or
compensation related to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and whose
claim was subsequently denied may file another claim on or after the
effective date of this Act, and the changes in law made by this Act
apply to that claim.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2021.