89R775 LRM-F
By: Guillen H.B. No. 241
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a state employment preference for certain individuals
who reside with veterans with a disability.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 657.002, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 657.002. INDIVIDUALS QUALIFIED FOR MILITARY
EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE. The following individuals qualify for a
military employment preference:
(1) a veteran, including a veteran with a disability;
(2) a veteran's surviving spouse who has not
remarried;
(3) an orphan of a veteran if the veteran was killed
while on active duty;
(4) the spouse of a member of the United States armed
forces or Texas National Guard serving on active duty; [and]
(5) the spouse of a veteran if the spouse is the
primary source of income for the household and the veteran has a
total disability rating based either on having a service-connected
disability with a disability rating of at least 70 percent or on
individual unemployability; and
(6) an individual who resides in a household with a
veteran if the individual is the primary source of income for the
household and the veteran:
(A) has a total disability rating based either on
having a service-connected disability with a disability rating of
100 percent or on individual unemployability; and
(B) is receiving Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq. or Social
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits under 42 U.S.C.
Section 401 et seq.
SECTION 2. Section 657.003(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A state agency shall provide to an individual entitled
to a military employment preference for employment or appointment
over other applicants for the same position who do not have a
greater qualification a military employment preference, in the
following order of priority:
(1) a veteran with a disability;
(2) a veteran;
(3) a spouse described by Section 657.002(4) or (5);
(4) a veteran's surviving spouse who has not
remarried; [and]
(5) an orphan of a veteran if the veteran was killed
while on active duty; and
(6) an individual who resides with a veteran with a
disability as described by Section 657.002(6) if the individual is
the primary source of income for the veteran's household.
SECTION 3. Section 657.005(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) An applicant who is a veteran with a disability, a
spouse of a veteran as described by Section 657.002(5), or an
individual who resides with a veteran with a disability as
described by Section 657.002(6) if the individual is the primary
source of income for the veteran's household, shall furnish the
official records to the individual whose duty is to fill the
position.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an open position with a state agency for which the state agency
begins accepting applications on or after the effective date of
this Act. An open position with a state agency for which the state
agency begins accepting applications before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the state
agency began accepting applications, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.