Relating to certain presumptions applicable to claims for benefits or compensation for certain medical conditions brought by certain first responders.
CriticalImmediate action required
Medium Cost
Effective:2025-05-24
Enforcing Agencies
Texas Department of Insurance (Division of Workers' Compensation) • State Office of Risk Management • Self-insured political subdivisions (Municipalities/Counties)
01
Compliance Analysis
Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
Implementation Timeline
Effective Date: May 24, 2025 (Immediate effect).
Compliance Deadline:Immediate. Any claim filed on or after May 24, 2025, is subject to the new standard, regardless of the date of injury.
Agency Rulemaking: No specific rulemaking is mandated, but the Division of Workers' Compensation (DWC) may issue Commissioner’s Bulletins regarding adjudication standards. Adjudication relies on the statutory text immediately.
Immediate Action Plan
1.Issue a Directive: Send a memo to all claims adjusters and TPAs by COB today: "Cease all denials based on 'routine duty' arguments for first responder cardiac claims filed on/after May 24, 2025."
2.Audit Pending Claims: Review all cardiac claims filed in the last 7 days to ensure none were denied under the expired standard.
3.Update Incident Logs: Instruct Watch Commanders and Fire Captains to document specific physical actions in shift logs, not just general duties.
4.Review Reserves: Contact your actuary or risk manager to adjust financial reserves for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Operational Changes Required
Contracts
TPA Agreements: Review Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with Third-Party Administrators immediately. Ensure they have updated their denial logic. If a TPA denies a claim today using the old "nonroutine" standard, your entity faces liability for administrative penalties and bad faith litigation.
Interlocal Agreements: Review cost-sharing provisions in mutual aid agreements. If a borrowed officer suffers a cardiac event, the "presumptive" liability is now easier to trigger, potentially altering the risk profile of shared services.
Hiring/Training
Training Documentation: Training officers must now document the physical exertion levels of all drills. Since "routine" training is no longer excluded, your only defense against a post-training cardiac claim is proving the specific training session was sedentary or non-strenuous.
Fitness for Duty: While not mandated by this bill, entities should aggressively enforce annual physicals to identify pre-existing "known causes" (e.g., non-work-related hypertension), which remains one of the few viable rebuttals to the presumption.
Reporting & Record-Keeping
Incident Reports: Update incident reporting templates for Police/Fire/EMS. Fields must be added to capture specific biometric data or exertion details (e.g., "distance run," "weight lifted," "stairs climbed"). Vague descriptions like "on patrol" are now liability traps.
Shift Logs: Precise time-stamping is critical. The presumption applies if the event occurs within 8 hours of the shift end. Discrepancies in shift-end times can be the difference between a compensable and non-compensable claim.
Fees & Costs
Actuarial Reserves: Self-insured pools must increase loss reserves for the current fiscal year. The frequency of compensable cardiac claims will rise.
Insurance Premiums: Entities on commercial paper should anticipate premium increases at the next renewal to account for the broadened scope of compensability.
Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations
Definition of "Strenuous": With "nonroutine" removed, the legal battleground shifts entirely to the definition of "strenuous." The statute does not define a minimum threshold of exertion. Until the DWC Appeals Panel establishes case law, claimants will argue that *any* physical movement beyond sedentary work is strenuous.
The "Filing Date" Trap: The law applies to claims *brought* on or after the effective date. A claim for a heart attack that occurred two months ago, if filed today, falls under the new, stricter law. Do not adjudicate based on the Date of Injury; adjudicate based on the Date of Filing.
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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.
Last session, the legislature enacted H.B. 471, which made changes relating to benefits for certain first responders related to illness and injury. When the house engrossed version of the bill was considered in the senate, a provision was subsequently removed that would have made a first responder's heart attack presumption applicable to an acute myocardial infarction or stroke that occurred within eight hours after the first responder's shift ended, thus making the infarction or stroke covered under workers' compensation benefits. The bill author has informed the committee that both insurance providers and first responders agreed to the eight-hour timeframe. H.B. 331 seeks to address this issue by providing for an eight-hour heart attack presumption for first responders that would cover them in the hours immediately following the end of a shift in which they were engaging in the applicable activity that resulted in the acute myocardial infarction or stroke resulting in disability or death.
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
H.B. 331 amends the Government Code to do the following with respect to the presumption, for purposes of claims for benefits or compensation for certain diseases or illnesses, that a firefighter, peace officer, or emergency medical technician who suffers an acute myocardial infarction or stroke resulting in disability or death as a result of certain stressful or strenuous physical activities has suffered the disability or death during the course and scope of their employment:
·expands the applicability of provisions relating to such a presumption by removing language limiting the types of qualifying stressful or strenuous physical activities to only those which are nonroutine;
·includes engagement in a situation that involves law enforcement while on duty among the qualifying stressful or strenuous physical activities; and
·removes language limiting the presumption to an infarction or stroke that occurs only while the person was engaging in the applicable activity and makes the presumption applicable instead to an infarction or stroke that occurs not later than eight hours after the end of a shift in which the person was engaging in the applicable activity.
H.B. 331 applies only to a claim for benefits or compensation brought on or after the bill's effective date. A claim for benefits or compensation brought before 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
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.
Honorable Angie Chen Button, Chair, House Committee on Trade, Workforce & Economic Development
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB331 by Patterson (Relating to certain presumptions applicable to claims for benefits or compensation for certain medical conditions brought by certain first responders.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
It is assumed that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
454 Department of Insurance, 479 State Office of Risk Management
LBB Staff:
JMc, RStu, BFa
Related Legislation
Explore more bills from this author and on related topics
Texas has significantly expanded workers' compensation liability for public employers by removing the "nonroutine" work requirement for first responder heart attack and stroke claims. Municipalities, counties, and their insurers must immediately cease denying claims based on the argument that a strenuous activity was "part of the job description," as the evidentiary burden has shifted in favor of the claimant. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: May 24, 2025 (Immediate effect).
Q
Who authored HB331?
HB331 was authored by Texas Representative Jared Patterson during the Regular Session.
Q
When was HB331 signed into law?
HB331 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on May 24, 2025.
Q
Which agencies enforce HB331?
HB331 is enforced by Texas Department of Insurance (Division of Workers' Compensation), State Office of Risk Management and Self-insured political subdivisions (Municipalities/Counties).
Q
How urgent is compliance with HB331?
The compliance urgency for HB331 is rated as "critical". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
Q
What is the cost impact of HB331?
The cost impact of HB331 is estimated as "medium". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
Q
What topics does HB331 address?
HB331 addresses topics including city government, city government--employees/officers, county government, county government--employees/officers and fire fighters & police.
Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025
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