H.B. No. 90
AN ACT
relating to benefits for certain members of the Texas military
forces and survivors of members of the Texas military forces.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Bishop Evans Act.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 56B, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended by adding Article 56B.109 to read as follows:
Art. 56B.109. COMPENSATION FOR CERTAIN SURVIVORS OF MEMBERS
OF TEXAS MILITARY FORCES. (a) In this article, "state active
duty," "Texas military forces," and "Texas National Guard" have the
meanings assigned by Section 437.001, Government Code.
(b) The attorney general shall award a lump sum payment in
accordance with Subsection (c) to a claimant on behalf of an
individual who is a victim of border crime and a member of the Texas
military forces if:
(1) the individual died on or after March 6, 2021, but
before September 1, 2023, while on state active duty;
(2) the individual's death was in connection with
operations initiated to address criminal activity in the border
region; and
(3) the claimant is:
(A) if the individual is a member of the Texas
National Guard, a beneficiary designated by the individual on the
individual's United States Department of Defense Form DD-93; or
(B) if the individual is not a member of the Texas
National Guard or there is no beneficiary described by Paragraph
(A):
(i) the surviving spouse of the individual;
(ii) a surviving child of the individual,
if there is no surviving spouse; or
(iii) the surviving parent of the
individual, if there is no surviving spouse or child.
(c) For purposes of Subsection (b), the lump sum payment
amount payable to an eligible claimant is:
(1) if there is a claimant described by Subsection
(b)(3)(A) or (B)(i), $500,000 paid to the claimant; or
(2) if there is no claimant described by Subsection
(b)(3)(A) or (B)(i), $500,000, in equal shares:
(A) paid to each claimant described by Subsection
(b)(3)(B)(ii); or
(B) paid to each claimant described by Subsection
(b)(3)(B)(iii) if there is no claimant described by Subsection
(b)(3)(B)(ii).
(d) This article may not be construed to limit the
assistance or compensation a claimant may otherwise receive under
this chapter.
(e) For purposes of this article, a beneficiary designated
by an individual on the individual's United States Department of
Defense Form DD-93 is a "claimant."
SECTION 3. Section 615.004(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) A finding that assistance is payable to an eligible
survivor of an individual listed under Section 615.003 or 615.024
is not a declaration of the cause, nature, or effect of a death for
any other purpose.
SECTION 4. Section 615.021(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) Payment of assistance may not occur under this
subchapter unless an individual is eligible under Subsection (a) or
Section 615.024.
SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 615, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 615.024 to read as follows:
Sec. 615.024. PAYMENT TO SURVIVORS OF MEMBERS OF TEXAS
MILITARY FORCES. (a) In this section, "state active duty," "Texas
military forces," and "Texas National Guard" have the meanings
assigned by Section 437.001.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 615.003 or 615.021, a survivor
of an individual who is a member of the Texas military forces is
eligible to receive a lump sum payment described by Section 615.022
and monthly assistance described by Section 615.023, as applicable,
which are the exclusive benefits available under this chapter, if:
(1) the individual died while on state active duty;
(2) the Texas Military Department certifies to the
Employees Retirement System of Texas that the circumstances of the
individual's death entitle an eligible survivor to the payment of
assistance under this chapter; and
(3) the survivor is:
(A) if the individual is a member of the Texas
National Guard, a beneficiary designated by the individual on the
individual's United States Department of Defense Form DD-93; or
(B) if the individual is not a member of the Texas
National Guard or there is no beneficiary described by Paragraph
(A):
(i) the surviving spouse of the individual;
(ii) a surviving child of the individual,
if there is no surviving spouse; or
(iii) the surviving parent of the
individual, if there is no surviving spouse or child.
(c) The Texas Military Department shall adopt rules
providing the circumstances under which the death of an individual
described by Subsection (b) entitles an eligible survivor to the
payment of assistance under this chapter.
SECTION 6. Sections 615.045(a), (c), and (d), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Records of individuals listed by Section 615.003 or
described by Section 615.024 and of survivors eligible for benefits
under this chapter that are in the custody of the Employees
Retirement System of Texas, an administering firm as defined by
Section 1551.003, Insurance Code, a carrier as defined by Section
1551.007, Insurance Code, or another governmental agency acting
with or on behalf of the retirement system are confidential and not
subject to public disclosure, and the retirement system,
administering firm, carrier, or governmental agency is not required
to accept or comply with a request for a record or information about
a record or to seek an opinion from the attorney general, because
the records are exempt from the provisions of Chapter 552, except as
otherwise provided by this section.
(c) The records of individuals listed by Section 615.003 or
described by Section 615.024 and of eligible survivors remain
confidential after release to a person as authorized by this
section. The records of individuals listed by Section 615.003 or
described by Section 615.024 and of eligible survivors may become
part of the public record of an administrative or judicial
proceeding related to an appeal filed under this chapter, unless
the records are closed to public access by a protective order issued
under applicable law.
(d) The retirement system has sole discretion in
determining whether a record is subject to this section. For
purposes of this section, a record includes any identifying
information about any person, living or deceased, who is or was:
(1) an individual listed in Section 615.003 or
described by Section 615.024; or
(2) a survivor, heir, or beneficiary of an individual
listed in Section 615.003 or described by Section 615.024.
SECTION 7. Subchapter C, Chapter 401, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 401.027 to read as follows:
Sec. 401.027. APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN MEMBERS OF TEXAS
MILITARY FORCES. (a) In this section, "state active duty," "state
training and other duty," and "Texas military forces" have the
meanings assigned by Section 437.001, Government Code.
(b) For purposes of this subtitle, the travel of a member of
the Texas military forces to or from the member's duty location
while serving on state active duty and engaged in authorized duty
under written orders or while on state training and other duty is
considered to be in the course and scope of the member's employment.
SECTION 8. Section 501.001, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Subdivisions (5-a) and (6-a) to read as follows:
(5-a) "Post-traumatic stress disorder" has the
meaning assigned by Section 504.019.
(6-a) "State active duty" and "Texas military forces"
have the meanings assigned by Section 437.001, Government Code.
SECTION 9. Subchapter B, Chapter 501, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Sections 501.027, 501.028, and 501.029 to read as
follows:
Sec. 501.027. COVERAGE FOR POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
FOR MEMBERS OF TEXAS MILITARY FORCES. (a) Post-traumatic stress
disorder suffered by a member of the Texas military forces on state
active duty is a compensable injury under this subtitle only if it
is based on a diagnosis that:
(1) the disorder is caused by one or more events
occurring in the course and scope of the member's state active duty;
and
(2) the preponderance of evidence indicates that the
event or events were a producing cause of the disorder.
(b) For purposes of this subtitle, the date of injury for
post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by a member of the Texas
military forces is the date on which the member knew or should have
known that the disorder may be related to the member's state active
duty.
Sec. 501.028. EXPEDITED PROVISION OF MEDICAL BENEFITS FOR
CERTAIN INJURIES SUSTAINED BY CERTAIN MEMBERS OF TEXAS MILITARY
FORCES ON STATE ACTIVE DUTY. (a) This section applies only to a
member of the Texas military forces who sustains a serious bodily
injury, as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, on state active
duty.
(b) An insurance carrier shall accelerate and give priority
to a claim for medical benefits by a member of the Texas military
forces to which this section applies, including all health care
required to cure or relieve the effects naturally resulting from a
compensable injury described by Subsection (a).
(c) The division shall accelerate, under rules adopted by
the commissioner of workers' compensation, a contested case hearing
requested by or an appeal submitted by a member of the Texas
military forces to which this section applies regarding the denial
of a claim for medical benefits, including all health care required
to cure or relieve the effects naturally resulting from a
compensable injury described by Subsection (a). The member shall
provide notice to the division and independent review organization
that the contested case or appeal involves a member of the Texas
military forces.
Sec. 501.029. INTENT OF EXPEDITED PROVISION OF MEDICAL
BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN INJURIES SUSTAINED BY CERTAIN MEMBERS OF TEXAS
MILITARY FORCES. The purpose of Section 501.028 is to ensure that a
claim for medical benefits by an injured member of the Texas
military forces to which this section applies is accelerated by an
insurance carrier to the full extent authorized by current law.
SECTION 10. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to
Chapter 615, Government Code, relating to the death of a member of
the Texas military forces applies only to a death that occurs on or
after the effective date of this Act. For purposes of that chapter,
the death of a member of the Texas military forces that occurs
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect on the date the death occurred, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) The changes in law made by this Act relating to a claim
for workers' compensation benefits by a member of the Texas
military forces apply 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 in effect on the
date that the compensable injury occurred, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 90 was passed by the House on April
12, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 90 on May 24, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0, 1
present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 90 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 19, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor