Relating to certain claims for benefits or compensation by a death investigation professional.
CriticalImmediate action required
Medium Cost
Effective:2025-06-20
Enforcing Agencies
Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (TDI-DWC) • Employees Retirement System of Texas (Chapter 615 Survivor Benefits) • County Governments (Mandated reimbursement payers)
01
Compliance Analysis
Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
Implementation Timeline
Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Immediate effect due to supermajority vote).
Compliance Deadline:Immediate. You must apply these standards to all claims filed on or after June 20, 2025, and retroactively to any claims pending on this date.
Agency Rulemaking: The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (TDI-DWC) must adopt rules to govern the "acceleration" of hearings. Until rules are published, carriers operate in a regulatory gray zone and must prioritize these claims voluntarily to avoid bad faith allegations.
Immediate Action Plan
1.Audit Pending Claims: Immediately review all open workers' compensation claims for Medical Examiners, JPs, and Death Investigators. Apply the new "priority" standards to these files today.
2.Update Triage Software: Configure claims management software to auto-flag job codes associated with DIPs.
3.Establish Reimbursement Protocol: Finance Departments must set up a workflow to pay for preventative exposure treatment directly if the workers' comp carrier denies coverage.
4.Issue TPA Directive: Send a formal memorandum to your TPA notifying them of the effective date and their obligation to prioritize these claims.
Operational Changes Required
Contracts
Third-Party Administrators (TPAs): Counties must amend TPA service agreements immediately. Insert clauses requiring the TPA to flag DIP claims for "acceleration" and "priority." Ensure indemnification clauses cover administrative penalties resulting from the TPA's failure to expedite these specific claims.
Medical Examiner Employment: Review contracts to ensure statutory rights to immunizations and physician choice for exposure treatment are acknowledged to prevent contract disputes.
Hiring/Training
HR Classification: Update HR Information Systems (HRIS) to tag Justices of the Peace, Medical Examiners, and *all* employees of the Medical Examiner's office as "Death Investigation Professionals."
Claims Adjuster Training: Train adjusters to identify DIPs immediately. They must understand that "ordinary disease of life" denials for these workers may now trigger separate statutory reimbursement obligations for the employer.
Reporting & Record-Keeping
Exposure Incident Forms: Create a specific "Notice of Exposure" form for DIPs. This document serves as the trigger for the county's financial obligation to reimburse preventative medical treatment under Gov. Code 607.002.
Immunization Logs: Maintain a compliant log of immunizations offered to and received by DIPs to satisfy Gov. Code 607.004.
DWC Filings: Carriers must track notices from claimants invoking their status as a DIP to ensure contested case hearings are scheduled on the accelerated docket.
Fees & Costs
Direct Medical Reimbursement: Counties must budget for direct reimbursement of "preventative medical treatment" for contagious diseases. If the workers' comp carrier denies the claim (e.g., no injury occurred yet), the County is statutorily liable for these costs.
Administrative Penalties: Carriers face variable administrative penalties under Labor Code 415.021(c-2) if they fail to expedite medical benefits for DIPs.
Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations
Definition of "Acceleration": The statute requires carriers to "accelerate and give priority" to these claims but does not define a specific timeframe (e.g., 24 hours vs. 5 days). Guidance: Until TDI-DWC defines this via rulemaking, treat DIP claims with the highest internal priority level available to mitigate penalty risk.
Scope of "Employee": The law covers "an employee of the medical examiner's office." It does not explicitly exclude administrative staff who do not visit crime scenes. Guidance: Assume broad applicability. If an administrative employee claims exposure to a contaminant brought into the office, they are likely covered under the plain text of the statute.
Need Help Understanding Implementation?
Our government affairs experts can walk you through this bill's specific impact on your operations.
Information presented is for general knowledge only and is provided without warranty, express or implied. Consult qualified government affairs professionals and legal counsel before making compliance decisions.
The bill author has informed the committee that a forensic death investigator with the office of the Ector County Medical Examiner has raised concerns about the lack of benefits for professionals in this field. According to the International Association of Coroners & Medical Examiners, coroners and medicolegal death investigators face many of the same hazards as recognized first responders, including exposure to biohazards, infectious diseases, and potential violence, yet they do not currently qualify for many of the same benefits as first responders. C.S.H.B. 1306 seeks to address this issue by entitling death investigation professionals, including justices of the peace, medical examiners and their employees, and death investigators, to certain medical and financial benefits.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 1306 amends the Government Code to entitle a death investigation professional to preventative immunization for any disease to which the professional may be exposed in conducting or assisting in an inquest and for which immunization is possible. The bill also entitles a death investigation professional who is exposed to a contagious disease to reimbursement for reasonable medical expenses incurred in treatment for prevention of the disease, and to receive such treatment from the physician of the professional's choice, if the following conditions apply:
·the disease is not an "ordinary disease of life" as that term is used in the context of a workers' compensation claim;
·the exposure occurs while conducting or assisting in an inquest; and
·the professional requires preventative medical treatment because of exposure to the disease.
The bill establishes that the county served by the death investigation professional is responsible for reimbursing the professional for those medical expenses. The bill defines "inquest" by reference to applicable Code of Criminal Procedure provisions and defines "death investigation professional" to mean the following individuals:
·a justice of the peace;
·a death investigator employed by a county's office of death investigator; or
·a medical examiner or an employee of the medical examiner's office employed under statutory provisions relating to medical examiner assistants;
C.S.H.B. 1306 makes statutory provisions relating to financial assistance to survivors of law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and certain other individuals who died as a result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty applicable to eligible survivors of a justice of the peace, a death investigator employed by a county's office of death investigator, a medical examiner, or an employee of a medical examiner's office employed under statutory provisions relating to medical examiner assistants.
C.S.H.B. 1306 amends the Labor Code to include the following individuals employed by a political subdivision of the state among the individuals considered a first responder for purposes of statutory provisions relating to the expedited provision of medical benefits under the workers' compensation system for certain injuries sustained by a first responder in the course and scope of employment:
·a justice of the peace covered as an employee under the applicable municipality's worker's compensation insurance coverage;
·a death investigator employed by a county's office of death investigator; or
·a medical examiner or an employee of the medical examiner's office employed under statutory provisions relating to medical examiner assistants.
C.S.H.B. 1306 applies to a claim for benefits or compensation pending on or filed on or after the bill's effective date. A claim for benefits or compensation filed before that date, other than a claim pending on that date, is governed by the law in effect on the date the claim was made, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2025.
COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 1306 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
The introduced version's provisions applied to coroners, medical examiners, and death investigators. The substitute makes the following changes to that applicability:
·replaces references to a coroner with references to a justice of the peace;
·clarifies that death investigators are employed under statutory provisions regarding a county's authority to establish an office of death investigator; and
·includes employees of a medical examiner's office employed under statutory provisions relating to medical examiner assistants among the applicable individuals.
The substitute clarifies that the bill provision regarding workers' compensation applies to a justice of the peace only if the justice is covered as an employee under the applicable municipality's workers' compensation coverage.
With respect to the bill provision entitling a death investigation professional to reimbursement for reasonable medical expenses incurred in treatment for prevention of a contagious disease to which the professional is exposed under certain circumstances, the substitute differs from the introduced in the following ways:
·the substitute changes the party responsible for reimbursing the professional from the employing governmental entity, as in the introduced, to the county served by the professional; and
·whereas the introduced conditioned the entitlement on the exposure occurring during the course of employment, the substitute conditions the entitlement on the exposure occurring while conducting or assisting in an inquest.
The substitute accordingly includes a definition of "inquest" that did not appear in the introduced.
Whereas the introduced provided for a death investigation professional's entitlement to preventative immunization for any disease to which the professional may be exposed in performing their duties, the substitute provides for a death investigation professional's entitlement to preventative immunization for any disease to which the professional may be exposed in conducting or assisting in an inquest.
Honorable Angie Chen Button, Chair, House Committee on Trade, Workforce & Economic Development
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1306 by Landgraf (Relating to certain claims for benefits or compensation by a coroner, medical examiner, or death investigator.), As Introduced
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined due to lack of data about the number of coroners, medical examiners, or death investigators whose survivors might be eligible for financial assistance under the provisions of the bill.
The bill would add certain coroners, medical examiners, and death investigator to the list of individuals eligible for benefits under Chapter 615 of the Government Code. This statute provides financial assistance to eligible survivors of certain individuals who died as a result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty. The bill would also add coroners, medical examiners, and death investigator to the list of individuals eligible to reimbursement from their employer for reasonable medical expenses for treatment after exposure to prevent certain diseases under Chapter 607 of the Government Code.
The bill would apply to a claim for benefits or compensation pending on or filed on or after the effective date of the Act, which takes effect September 1, 2025.
The lump sum amount provided to eligible survivors for a death occurring in fiscal year 2025 is $611,135, appropriated out of General Revenue Funds. The lump sum amount is adjusted each year by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).
The cost of the bill cannot be determined due to the lack of data about the number of individuals whose survivors might be affected by the provisions of the bill.
According to the State Office of Risk Management, the bill would not affect the state's workers' compensation program.
Local Government Impact
The fiscal implications of the bill cannot be determined at this time due to unknown medical expenses incurred by counties for treatment after exposure to prevent certain diseases under Chapter 607 of the Government Code.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 327 Employees Retirement System, 405 Department of Public Safety, 454 Department of Insurance, 479 State Office of Risk Management, 529 Health and Human Services Commission, 537 State Health Services, Department of, 696 Department of Criminal Justice
LBB Staff:
JMc, RStu, LCO, JPO, NV
Related Legislation
Explore more bills from this author and on related topics
Effective immediately, HB1306 mandates that County Governments and Workers' Compensation Carriers prioritize and subsidize medical care for "Death Investigation Professionals" (DIPs), including Medical Examiners, Justices of the Peace, and Death Investigators. This law shifts financial liability for preventative exposure treatment directly to counties and subjects insurance carriers to administrative penalties for failing to accelerate DIP claims. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Immediate effect due to supermajority vote).
Q
Who authored HB1306?
HB1306 was authored by Texas Representative Brooks Landgraf during the Regular Session.
Q
When was HB1306 signed into law?
HB1306 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
Q
Which agencies enforce HB1306?
HB1306 is enforced by Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation (TDI-DWC), Employees Retirement System of Texas (Chapter 615 Survivor Benefits) and County Governments (Mandated reimbursement payers).
Q
How urgent is compliance with HB1306?
The compliance urgency for HB1306 is rated as "critical". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
Q
What is the cost impact of HB1306?
The cost impact of HB1306 is estimated as "medium". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
Q
What topics does HB1306 address?
HB1306 addresses topics including city government, city government--employees/officers, county government, county government--employees/officers and health.
Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025
Need Strategic Guidance on This Bill?
Need help with Government Relations, Lobbying, or compliance? JD Key Consulting has the expertise you're looking for.
