Four WC Bills have been Prefiled for 87th Regular Session

The Texas legislature is gearing up to start the 87^th Regular Session and four workers’ comp bills have already been prefiled.

The following is a summary of the four bills that have been prefiled. Many more will certainly be filed in the weeks leading up to and following the beginning of the session.

Death Benefits

HB 243 by Thresa Meza (D-Irving). A bill relating to a cost-of-living increase applicable to death benefits paid under the workers’ compensation system.

HB 243 provides for the imposition of annual cost of living increases tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers on death benefits payable under § 408.081.

The change would apply to injuries that occur on or after the effective date of the bill. Existing claims would not be subject to COL increases.

Presumptions

SB 107 by Beverly Powell (D-Burleson). A bill relating to certain claims for benefits, compensation, or assistance by certain public safety employees and survivors of certain public safety employees.

The bill expands the applicability of Chapter 607 presumptions to include detention officers. A detention officer is defined to mean an individual employed by a state agency or political subdivision to ensure the safekeeping of prisoners and the security of a municipal, county, or state penal institution in Texas.

SB 107 also provides that a disease covered by Chapter 607 of the Government Code is not an “ordinary disease of life” if the disease is the basis for a disaster declared by the governor under § 418.014 for all or part of the state. This section of the bill is identical to HB 310.

The bill also provides a presumption of entitlement to line of duty pay under § 615.072 for eligible employees who suffer a personal injury resulting from a disease that is the basis for a disaster declared by the governor under § 418.014 for all or part of the state.

The amendments would apply to claims brought on or after the effective date of the bill. Claims brought prior to the effective date of the bill would not be subject to the changes.

HB 396 by Joe Moody (D-El Paso). A bill relating to the eligibility of nurses for workers’ compensation benefits for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and payment of those benefits.

HB 396 creates a presumption of compensability for nurses who are diagnosed with COVID-19 if the nurse is assigned to treat a patient diagnosed with the disease or assigned to duties that require the nurse to come into contact with a patient diagnosed with the disease and contracts the disease during the patient’s admission to the health care facility at which the nurse treated or came in contact with the patient not later than the 14^th day following the date of the patient’s discharge from the facility.

Although the presumption created by the bill would be placed in the Workers’ Compensation Act, the bill incorporates investigatory and filing procedures (including use of the PLN-14) which are applicable to presumptions under Chapter 607 of the Government Code.

The amendments would apply to claims filed on or after the effective date of the bill. Claims filed prior to the effective date of the bill would not be subject to the changes, except the bills provides that a person who filed a COVID-19 claim for workers’ compensation benefits on or after February 1, 2020, but before the effective date of the bill may file another claim on or after the effective date of the bill and the changes in this bill apply to that claim.

HB 310 by Drew Springer (R-Muenster). A bill relating to certain claims for benefits, compensation, or assistance by certain public safety employees and survivors of certain public safety employees.

Note, Rep. Springer is also a candidate for Senate in District 30. The race produced a runoff between Rep. Springer and Shelley Luther, who first came to prominence when she was jailed earlier this year after opening her Dallas salon amid COVID-19 restrictions. A special election date for Senate District 30 has been set for December 19, 2020.

HB 310 provides that a disease covered by Chapter 607 of the Government Code is not an “ordinary disease of life” if the disease is the basis for a disaster declared by the governor under § 418.014 for all or part of the state.

The amendments would apply to claims brought on or after the effective date of the bill. Claims brought prior to the effective date of the bill would not be subject to the changes.

Session begins January 12, 2021 and ends May 31, 2021. The deadline for the unrestricted filing of bills and joint resolutions other than local bills, emergency appropriations, and emergency matters submitted by the governor is March 12, 2021.