88R2724 SCP-F
By: Canales H.B. No. 2315
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain presumptions applicable to claims for benefits
for certain public safety employees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 607.052(a), (b), and (h), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, this subchapter applies
only to a detention officer, custodial officer, firefighter, peace
officer, or emergency medical technician who:
(1) on becoming employed or during employment as a
detention officer, custodial officer, firefighter, peace officer,
or emergency medical technician, received a physical examination
that failed to reveal evidence of the illness or disease for which
benefits or compensation are sought using a presumption established
by this subchapter;
(2) is employed for five or more years as a
firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician,
except for the presumptions [presumption] under Sections 607.053
and [Section] 607.0545; and
(3) seeks benefits or compensation for a disease or
illness covered by this subchapter that is discovered during
employment as a detention officer, custodial officer, firefighter,
peace officer, or emergency medical technician.
(b) A presumption under this subchapter does not apply:
(1) to a determination of a survivor's eligibility for
benefits under Chapter 615;
(2) in a cause of action brought in a state or federal
court except for judicial review of a proceeding in which there has
been a grant or denial of employment-related benefits or
compensation;
(3) to a determination regarding benefits or
compensation under a life or disability insurance policy purchased
by or on behalf of the detention officer, custodial officer,
firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician that
provides coverage in addition to any benefits or compensation
required by law; or
(4) if the disease or illness for which benefits or
compensation is sought is a cancer listed in Section 607.055 and
known to be caused by the use of tobacco and:
(A) the firefighter[, peace officer,] or
emergency medical technician has used a tobacco product in the five
years preceding the diagnosis of the cancer [is or has been a user
of tobacco]; or
(B) the firefighter's[, peace officer's,] or
emergency medical technician's spouse has, during the marriage,
used a tobacco product that is consumed through smoking in the five
years preceding the diagnosis of the cancer [been a user of tobacco
that is consumed through smoking].
(h) Subsection (b)(4) only prevents the application of the
presumption authorized by this subchapter and does not affect the
right of a firefighter[, peace officer,] or emergency medical
technician to provide proof, without the use of that presumption,
that an injury or illness occurred during the course and scope of
employment.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a claim for benefits or compensation brought on or after the
effective date of this Act. A claim for benefits or compensation
brought before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect on the date the claim was made, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
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, 2023.