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S.B. No. 310
AN ACT
relating to certain diseases or illnesses suffered by firefighters
and emergency medical technicians.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Chapter 607, Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 607. BENEFITS RELATING TO CERTAIN [CONTAGIOUS] DISEASES
AND ILLNESSES
SECTION 2. Sections 607.001 through 607.004, Government
Code, are designated as Subchapter A, Chapter 607, and a heading for
that subchapter is added to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER A. CONTAGIOUS DISEASES
SECTION 3. Chapter 607, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter B to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER B. DISEASES OR ILLNESSES SUFFERED BY
FIREFIGHTERS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS
Sec. 607.051. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Disability" means partial or total disability.
(2) "Emergency medical technician" means an
individual who is certified as an emergency medical technician by
the Department of State Health Services as provided by Chapter 773,
Health and Safety Code, and who is employed by a political
subdivision.
(3) "Firefighter" means:
(A) an individual who is defined as fire
protection personnel under Section 419.021; or
(B) an individual who is a volunteer firefighter
certified by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection or the State
Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas.
Sec. 607.052. APPLICABILITY. (a) Notwithstanding any
other law, this subchapter applies only to a firefighter or
emergency medical technician who:
(1) on becoming employed or during employment as a
firefighter 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
or emergency medical technician; and
(3) seeks benefits or compensation for a disease or
illness covered by this subchapter that is discovered during
employment as a firefighter 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 firefighter 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 known to be caused by the use of tobacco
and:
(A) the firefighter or emergency medical
technician is or has been a user of tobacco; or
(B) the firefighter's or emergency medical
technician's spouse has, during the marriage, been a user of
tobacco that is consumed through smoking.
(c) This subchapter does not create a cause of action.
(d) This subchapter does not enlarge or establish a right to
any benefit or compensation or eligibility for any benefit or
compensation.
(e) A firefighter or emergency medical technician who uses a
presumption established under this subchapter is entitled only to
the benefits or compensation to which the firefighter or emergency
medical technician would otherwise be entitled to receive at the
time the claim for benefits or compensation is filed.
(f) For purposes of this subchapter, an individual
described by Section 607.051(3)(B) is considered to have been
employed or compensated while the individual actively served as a
volunteer firefighter. An individual who actively serves as a
volunteer firefighter is one who participates in a minimum of 40
percent of the drills conducted by the individual's department and
25 percent of the fire or other emergency calls received by the
department during the time that the volunteer firefighter is on
call.
(g) This subchapter applies to a firefighter or emergency
medical technician who provides services as an employee of an
entity created by an interlocal agreement.
(h) Subsection (b)(4) only prevents the application of the
presumption authorized by this subchapter and does not affect the
right of a firefighter 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.
Sec. 607.053. IMMUNIZATION; SMALLPOX. (a) A firefighter
or emergency medical technician is presumed to have suffered a
disability or death during the course and scope of employment if the
firefighter or emergency medical technician:
(1) received preventative immunization against
smallpox, or another disease to which the firefighter or emergency
medical technician may be exposed during the course and scope of
employment and for which immunization is possible; and
(2) suffered death or total or partial disability as a
result of the immunization.
(b) An immunization described by this section is considered
preventative whether the immunization occurs before or after
exposure to the disease for which the immunization is prescribed.
(c) A presumption established under Subsection (a) may not
be rebutted by evidence that the immunization was:
(1) not required by the employer;
(2) not required by law; or
(3) received voluntarily or with the consent of the
firefighter or emergency medical technician.
(d) A firefighter or emergency medical technician who
suffers from smallpox that results in death or total or partial
disability is presumed to have contracted the disease during the
course and scope of employment as a firefighter or emergency
medical technician.
Sec. 607.054. TUBERCULOSIS OR OTHER RESPIRATORY ILLNESS. A
firefighter or emergency medical technician who suffers from
tuberculosis, or any other disease or illness of the lungs or
respiratory tract that has a statistically positive correlation
with service as a firefighter or emergency medical technician, that
results in death or total or partial disability is presumed to have
contracted the disease or illness during the course and scope of
employment as a firefighter or emergency medical technician.
Sec. 607.055. CANCER. (a) A firefighter or emergency
medical technician who suffers from cancer resulting in death or
total or partial disability is presumed to have developed the
cancer during the course and scope of employment as a firefighter or
emergency medical technician if:
(1) the firefighter or emergency medical technician:
(A) regularly responded on the scene to calls
involving fires or fire fighting; or
(B) regularly responded to an event involving the
documented release of radiation or a known or suspected carcinogen
while the person was employed as a firefighter or emergency medical
technician; and
(2) the cancer is known to be associated with fire
fighting or exposure to heat, smoke, radiation, or a known or
suspected carcinogen, as described by Subsection (b).
(b) This section applies only to a type of cancer that may be
caused by exposure to heat, smoke, radiation, or a known or
suspected carcinogen as determined by the International Agency for
Research on Cancer.
Sec. 607.056. ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION OR STROKE.
(a) A firefighter or emergency medical technician who suffers an
acute myocardial infarction or stroke resulting in disability or
death is presumed to have suffered the disability or death during
the course and scope of employment as a firefighter or emergency
medical technician if:
(1) while on duty, the firefighter or emergency
medical technician:
(A) was engaged in a situation that involved
nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical activity involving fire
suppression, rescue, hazardous material response, emergency
medical services, or other emergency response activity; or
(B) participated in a training exercise that
involved nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical activity; and
(2) the acute myocardial infarction or stroke occurred
while the firefighter or emergency medical technician was engaging
in the activity described under Subdivision (1).
(b) For purposes of this section, "nonroutine stressful or
strenuous physical activity" does not include clerical,
administrative, or nonmanual activities.
Sec. 607.057. EFFECT OF PRESUMPTION. Except as provided by
Section 607.052(b), a presumption established under this
subchapter applies to a determination of whether a firefighter's or
emergency medical technician's disability or death resulted from a
disease or illness contracted in the course and scope of employment
for purposes of benefits or compensation provided under another
employee benefit, law, or plan, including a pension plan.
Sec. 607.058. PRESUMPTION REBUTTABLE. A presumption under
Section 607.053, 607.054, 607.055, or 607.056 may be rebutted
through a showing by a preponderance of the evidence that a risk
factor, accident, hazard, or other cause not associated with the
individual's service as a firefighter or emergency medical
technician caused the individual's disease or illness.
Sec. 607.059. PROHIBITED PAYMENT. No payment shall be made
to the subsequent injury fund under Section 403.007, Labor Code,
for any death resulting from a disease or illness presumed to have
been contracted in the course and scope of employment under this
subchapter.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply 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 that date is covered by the law in effect on the date
the claim was made, and that law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 310 passed the Senate on
April 7, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 0; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 20, 2005, by the
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 310 passed the House, with
amendment, on May 17, 2005, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor