The Texas House of Representatives just passed House Bill 541, which provides protections for public safety employees, designating COVID-19 as a “presumptive illness.”
This makes it easier for firefighters, police officers and corrections officers to qualify for benefits if they are affected.
The bill, sponsored by State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco), four other Republicans and seven Democrats, passed the House 136-9. Among the yay votes was Rep. Brooks Landgraf, who issued a statement via his Facebook page on April 27.
“’Back the Blue’ has to be a phrase that’s more than just words. It needs action to mean something,” Landgraf wrote. “Today, I voted HB 541 in the Texas House of Representatives to ensure benefits for police and other first responders who contracted or succumbed to COVID-19. The families of these first responders have been affected greatly by the impact of the pandemic, and ensuring they are taken care of in their time of need is crucial.”
The bill aims to make it easier for public safety employees like firefighters, police officers and correctional officers to qualify for benefits and compensation “by establishing a presumption that SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 was contracted in the scope of employment, subject to certain conditions,” according to a legislative analysis.
In addition, there’s a Senate bill (SB 22) that was passed unanimously in the Senate and now heads to the House.
SB 22, or the First Responder Pandemic Care Act, would support those who interact with strangers on a daily basis as part of their jobs, whether they’re responding to an accident, transporting victims to the hospital or responding to fire incidents.
"They’ve earned it, it is not a gift we are giving to them, it is something they have earned," said Sen. Drew Springer in an interview with ABC 7 Amarillo. "It presumes that they contracted COVID at the workplace and this allows them to get not only workers comp benefits but death benefits and we have seen throughout Texas where spouses have been denied those benefits that are due them while their loved ones were doing exactly what we wanted them to do."
If Senate Bill 22 passes, it will go to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature.