Sec. 615.021. ELIGIBLE SURVIVORS. (a) A survivor of an individual listed under Section 615.003 is eligible for the payment of assistance under this chapter if:

(1) the listed individual died as a result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty in the individual's position as described by Section 615.003; and

(2) the survivor is:

(A) the surviving spouse of the listed individual;

(B) a surviving child of the listed individual, if there is no surviving spouse; or

(C) a surviving parent of the listed individual, if there is no surviving spouse or child.

(b) Payment of assistance may not occur under this subchapter unless an individual is eligible under Subsection (a).

(c) An individual employed by the state or a political or legal subdivision who is subject to certification by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection or whose principal duties are aircraft crash and rescue fire fighting is considered to have died as a result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty in the individual's position as described by Section 615.003 if the individual died while actually performing an activity that the individual was certified to perform by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection, without regard to whether the individual was actually performing the activity during the individual's compensable hours at work.

(d) In a determination of whether the survivor of an individual listed under Section 615.003 is eligible for the payment of assistance under this chapter, any reasonable doubt arising from the circumstances of the individual's death shall be resolved in favor of the payment of assistance to the survivor.

(e) In this section:

(1) "Personal injury" means an injury resulting from an external force, an activity, or a disease caused by or resulting from:

(A) a line-of-duty accident; or

(B) an illness caused by line-of-duty work under hazardous conditions.

(2) "Line of duty" means an action an individual listed under Section 615.003 is required or authorized by rule, condition of employment, or law to perform. The term includes:

(A) an action by the individual at a social, ceremonial, athletic, or other function to which the individual is assigned by the individual's employer; and

(B) an action performed as part of a training program the individual is required or authorized by rule, condition of employment, or law to undertake.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 268, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 5.12(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1049, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1438, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 842, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 55 (S.B. 872), Sec. 2, eff. May 19, 2009.