Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1864 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R732 KKR-D
2	2	By: Powell S.B. No. 1864
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the eligibility of certain telecommunicators for
8	8	workers' compensation and other benefits.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 615.003, Government Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 615.003. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
13	13	eligible survivors of the following individuals:
14	14	(1) an individual:
15	15	(A) elected, appointed, or employed as a peace
16	16	officer by the state or a political subdivision of the state under
17	17	Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or other law; or
18	18	(B) employed as a peace officer by a private
19	19	institution of higher education, including a private junior
20	20	college, that is located in this state under Section 51.212,
21	21	Education Code;
22	22	(2) a paid probation officer appointed by the director
23	23	of a community supervision and corrections department who has the
24	24	duties set out in Section 76.002 and the qualifications set out in
25	25	Section 76.005, or who was appointed in accordance with prior law;
26	26	(3) a parole officer employed by the Texas Department
27	27	of Criminal Justice who has the duties set out in Section 508.001
28	28	and the qualifications set out in Section 508.113 or in prior law;
29	29	(4) a paid jailer;
30	30	(5) a member of an organized police reserve or
31	31	auxiliary unit who regularly assists peace officers in enforcing
32	32	criminal laws;
33	33	(6) a member of the class of employees of the
34	34	correctional institutions division formally designated as
35	35	custodial personnel under Section 615.006 by the Texas Board of
36	36	Criminal Justice or its predecessor in function;
37	37	(7) a jailer or guard of a county jail who is appointed
38	38	by the sheriff and who:
39	39	(A) performs a security, custodial, or
40	40	supervisory function over the admittance, confinement, or
41	41	discharge of prisoners; and
42	42	(B) is certified by the Texas Commission on Law
43	43	Enforcement;
44	44	(8) a juvenile correctional employee of the Texas
45	45	Juvenile Justice Department;
46	46	(9) an employee of the Department of Aging and
47	47	Disability Services or Department of State Health Services who:
48	48	(A) works at the department's maximum security
49	49	unit; or
50	50	(B) performs on-site services for the Texas
51	51	Department of Criminal Justice;
52	52	(10) an individual who is employed by the state or a
53	53	political or legal subdivision and is subject to certification by
54	54	the Texas Commission on Fire Protection;
55	55	(11) an individual employed by the state or a
56	56	political or legal subdivision whose principal duties are aircraft
57	57	crash and rescue fire fighting;
58	58	(12) a member of an organized volunteer fire-fighting
59	59	unit that:
60	60	(A) renders fire-fighting services without
61	61	remuneration; and
62	62	(B) conducts a minimum of two drills each month,
63	63	each two hours long;
64	64	(13) an individual who:
65	65	(A) performs emergency medical services or
66	66	operates an ambulance;
67	67	(B) is employed by a political subdivision of the
68	68	state or is an emergency medical services volunteer as defined by
69	69	Section 773.003, Health and Safety Code; and
70	70	(C) is qualified as an emergency care attendant
71	71	or at a higher level of training under Section 773.046, 773.047,
72	72	773.048, 773.049, or 773.0495, Health and Safety Code;
73	73	(14) an individual who is employed or formally
74	74	designated as a chaplain for:
75	75	(A) an organized volunteer fire-fighting unit or
76	76	other fire department of this state or of a political subdivision of
77	77	this state;
78	78	(B) a law enforcement agency of this state or of a
79	79	political subdivision of this state; or
80	80	(C) the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;
81	81	(15) an individual who is employed by the state or a
82	82	political subdivision of the state and who is considered by the
83	83	governmental employer to be a trainee for a position otherwise
84	84	described by this section;
85	85	(16) an individual who is employed by the Department
86	86	of Public Safety and, as certified by the director, is:
87	87	(A) deployed into the field in direct support of
88	88	a law enforcement operation, including patrol, investigative,
89	89	search and rescue, crime scene, on-site communications, or special
90	90	operations; and
91	91	(B) given a special assignment in direct support
92	92	of operations relating to organized crime, criminal interdiction,
93	93	border security, counterterrorism, intelligence, traffic
94	94	enforcement, emergency management, regulatory services, or special
95	95	investigations; [or]
96	96	(17) an individual who is employed by the Parks and
97	97	Wildlife Department and, as certified by the executive director of
98	98	the Parks and Wildlife Department, is:
99	99	(A) deployed into the field in direct support of
100	100	a law enforcement operation, including patrol, investigative,
101	101	search and rescue, crime scene, on-site communications, or special
102	102	operations; and
103	103	(B) given a special assignment in direct support
104	104	of operations relating to organized crime, criminal interdiction,
105	105	border security, counterterrorism, intelligence, traffic
106	106	enforcement, emergency management, regulatory services, or special
107	107	investigations; or
108	108	(18) a telecommunicator, as defined by Section
109	109	1701.001, Occupations Code.
110	110	SECTION 2. Section 504.019(a)(1), Labor Code, is amended to
111	111	read as follows:
112	112	(1) "First responder" means an individual employed by
113	113	a political subdivision of this state who is:
114	114	(A) a peace officer under Article 2.12, Code of
115	115	Criminal Procedure;
116	116	(B) a person licensed under Chapter 773, Health
117	117	and Safety Code, as an emergency care attendant, emergency medical
118	118	technician, emergency medical technician-intermediate, emergency
119	119	medical technician-paramedic, or licensed paramedic; [or]
120	120	(C) a firefighter subject to certification by the
121	121	Texas Commission on Fire Protection under Chapter 419, Government
122	122	Code, whose principal duties are firefighting and aircraft crash
123	123	and rescue; or
124	124	(D) a telecommunicator, as defined by Section
125	125	1701.001, Occupations Code.
126	126	SECTION 3. Section 504.055(a), Labor Code, is amended to
127	127	read as follows:
128	128	(a) In this section, "first responder" means:
129	129	(1) an individual employed by a political subdivision
130	130	of this state who is:
131	131	(A) a peace officer under Article 2.12, Code of
132	132	Criminal Procedure;
133	133	(B) a person licensed under Chapter 773, Health
134	134	and Safety Code, as an emergency care attendant, emergency medical
135	135	technician, emergency medical technician-intermediate, emergency
136	136	medical technician-paramedic, or licensed paramedic; or
137	137	(C) a firefighter subject to certification by the
138	138	Texas Commission on Fire Protection under Chapter 419, Government
139	139	Code, whose principal duties are firefighting and aircraft crash
140	140	and rescue; [or]
141	141	(2) an individual covered under Section 504.012(a) who
142	142	is providing volunteer services to a political subdivision of this
143	143	state as:
144	144	(A) a volunteer firefighter, without regard to
145	145	whether the volunteer firefighter is certified under Subchapter D,
146	146	Chapter 419, Government Code; or
147	147	(B) an emergency medical services volunteer, as
148	148	defined by Section 773.003, Health and Safety Code; or
149	149	(3) a telecommunicator, as defined by Section
150	150	1701.001, Occupations Code.
151	151	SECTION 4. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this
152	152	section, the changes in law made by this Act apply only to a claim
153	153	for financial assistance or workers' compensation benefits based on
154	154	a compensable injury or death that occurs on or after September 1,
155	155	2019. A claim based on a compensable injury or death that occurs
156	156	before that date is governed by the law as it existed on the date the
157	157	compensable injury or death occurred, and the former law is
158	158	continued in effect for that purpose.
159	159	(b) A person who on or after September 1, 2019, but before
160	160	the effective date of this Act, filed a claim for financial
161	161	assistance or workers' compensation benefits based on a compensable
162	162	injury or death that occurred on or after that date, and whose claim
163	163	was subsequently denied may file another claim on or after the
164	164	effective date of this Act, and the changes in law made by this Act
165	165	apply to that claim.
166	166	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
167	167	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
168	168	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
169	169	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
170	170	Act takes effect September 1, 2021.