Art. 56.542. PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN DISABLED PEACE OFFICERS. (a) In this article, "peace officer":
(1) means an individual elected, appointed, or employed to serve as a peace officer for a governmental entity under Article 2.12 or other law; and
(2) includes a former peace officer who because of an injury suffered while performing duties as a peace officer is entitled to receive payments under this article.
(b) If a peace officer employed by the state or a local governmental entity in this state sustains an injury as a result of criminally injurious conduct on or after September 1, 1989, in the performance of the officer's duties as a peace officer and presents evidence satisfactory to the attorney general that the officer's condition is a total disability resulting in permanent incapacity for work and that the total disability has persisted for more than 12 months, the officer is entitled to an annual payment equal to the difference between:
(1) any amounts received by the officer on account of the injury or disability from other sources of income, including settlements related to the injury or disability, insurance benefits, federal disability benefits, workers' compensation benefits, and benefits from another governmental entity, if those amounts do not exceed the amount described by Subdivision (2); and
(2) an amount equal to the officer's average annual salary during the officer's final three years as a peace officer.
(c) The amount of the payment under Subsection (b) is subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment computed by the attorney general. The attorney general shall compute the amount of the cost-of-living adjustment by multiplying the amount of the annual payment received by the peace officer under this section during the previous year times the percentage by which the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, or its successor index, increased during the previous calendar year.
(d) The attorney general shall compute the amount of an initial payment based on an injury suffered after September 1, 1989, by:
(1) computing the amount to which the officer is entitled under Subsection (b); and
(2) adding to that amount the cumulative successive cost-of-living adjustments for the intervening years computed from the date of the injury.
(e) To receive a payment under this section, a peace officer must furnish to the attorney general:
(1) proof that the injury was sustained in the performance of the applicant's duties as a peace officer and is a total disability resulting in permanent incapacity for work; and
(2) other information or evidence the attorney general requires.
(f) The attorney general may approve the application without a hearing or may conduct a hearing under Article 56.40. The decision of the attorney general is subject to judicial review under Article 56.48.
(g) The attorney general may appoint a panel of physicians to periodically review each application for assistance under this article to ensure the validity of the application and the necessity of continued assistance to the peace officer.
(h) The attorney general shall notify the comptroller of the attorney general's determination that a claim under this section is valid and justifies payment. On receipt of the notice, the comptroller shall issue a warrant to or in behalf of the claimant in the proper amount from amounts in the compensation to victims of crime fund. A payment under this section to or in behalf of a peace officer is payable as soon as possible after the attorney general notifies the comptroller.
(i) The attorney general and the comptroller by rule shall adopt a memorandum of understanding to establish procedures under which annual payments continue to a peace officer until continued assistance is no longer necessary.
(j) Article 56.37 does not apply to the filing of an application under this article. Other provisions of this chapter apply to this article to the extent applicable and consistent with this article.
(k) The limits on compensation imposed by Article 56.42 do not apply to payments made under this article, but the total aggregate amount of all annual payments made to an individual peace officer under this section may not exceed $200,000.
(l) A peace officer who is entitled to an annual payment under Subsection (b) may elect to receive the payment in:
(1) a single payment paid each year; or
(2) equal monthly installments.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1512, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 751 (H.B. 2823), Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2005.
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