Bill Text: TX HB1424 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled


Bill Title: Relating to the operation of an unmanned aircraft over certain facilities or sports venues; creating a criminal offense.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-06-15 - Effective on 9/1/17 [HB1424 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB1424-Enrolled.html
 
 
  H.B. No. 1424
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the operation of an unmanned aircraft over certain
  facilities or sports venues; creating a criminal offense.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  The heading to Section 423.0045, Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 423.0045.  OFFENSE: OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT OVER
  CORRECTIONAL FACILITY, DETENTION FACILITY, OR CRITICAL
  INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY.
         SECTION 2.  Section 423.0045(a), Government Code, is amended
  by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (1-a) and (3)
  to read as follows:
               (1)  "Correctional facility" means:
                     (A)  a confinement facility operated by or under
  contract with any division of the Texas Department of Criminal
  Justice;
                     (B)  a municipal or county jail;
                     (C)  a confinement facility operated by or under
  contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons; or
                     (D)  a secure correctional facility or secure
  detention facility, as defined by Section 51.02, Family Code.
               (1-a)  "Critical infrastructure facility" means:
                     (A)  one of the following, if completely enclosed
  by a fence or other physical barrier that is obviously designed to
  exclude intruders, or if clearly marked with a sign or signs that
  are posted on the property, are reasonably likely to come to the
  attention of intruders, and indicate that entry is forbidden:
                           (i)  a petroleum or alumina refinery;
                           (ii)  an electrical power generating
  facility, substation, switching station, or electrical control
  center;
                           (iii)  a chemical, polymer, or rubber
  manufacturing facility;
                           (iv)  a water intake structure, water
  treatment facility, wastewater treatment plant, or pump station;
                           (v)  a natural gas compressor station;
                           (vi)  a liquid natural gas terminal or
  storage facility;
                           (vii)  a telecommunications central
  switching office;
                           (viii)  a port, railroad switching yard,
  trucking terminal, or other freight transportation facility;
                           (ix)  a gas processing plant, including a
  plant used in the processing, treatment, or fractionation of
  natural gas;
                           (x)  a transmission facility used by a
  federally licensed radio or television station;
                           (xi)  a steelmaking facility that uses an
  electric arc furnace to make steel; or
                           (xii)  a dam that is classified as a high
  hazard by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; or
                     (B)  any portion of an aboveground oil, gas, or
  chemical pipeline that is enclosed by a fence or other physical
  barrier that is obviously designed to exclude intruders.
               (3)  "Detention facility" means a facility operated by
  or under contract with United States Immigration and Customs
  Enforcement for the purpose of detaining aliens and placing them in
  removal proceedings.
         SECTION 3.  Sections 423.0045(b), (c), and (d), Government
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
  or knowingly:
               (1)  operates an unmanned aircraft over a correctional
  facility, detention facility, or critical infrastructure facility
  and the unmanned aircraft is not higher than 400 feet above ground
  level;
               (2)  allows an unmanned aircraft to make contact with a
  correctional facility, detention facility, or critical
  infrastructure facility, including any person or object on the
  premises of or within the facility; or
               (3)  allows an unmanned aircraft to come within a
  distance of a correctional facility, detention facility, or
  critical infrastructure facility that is close enough to interfere
  with the operations of or cause a disturbance to the facility.
         (c)  This section does not apply to:
               (1)  conduct described by Subsection (b) that involves
  a correctional facility, detention facility, or critical
  infrastructure facility and is committed by:
                     (A) [(1)]  the federal government, the state, or a
  governmental entity;
                     (B) [(2)]  a person under contract with or
  otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of the federal
  government, the state, or a governmental entity;
                     (C) [(3)]  a law enforcement agency;
                     (D) [(4)]  a person under contract with or
  otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of a law
  enforcement agency; or
                     (E)  an operator of an unmanned aircraft that is
  being used for a commercial purpose, if the operation is conducted
  in compliance with:
                           (i)  each applicable Federal Aviation
  Administration rule, restriction, or exemption; and
                           (ii)  all required Federal Aviation
  Administration authorizations; or
               (2)  conduct described by Subsection (b) that involves
  a critical infrastructure facility and is committed by:
                     (A) [(5)]  an owner or operator of the critical
  infrastructure facility;
                     (B) [(6)]  a person under contract with or
  otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of an owner or
  operator of the critical infrastructure facility;
                     (C) [(7)]  a person who has the prior written
  consent of the owner or operator of the critical infrastructure
  facility; or
                     (D) [(8)]  the owner or occupant of the property
  on which the critical infrastructure facility is located or a
  person who has the prior written consent of the owner or occupant of
  that property[; or
               [(9)     an operator of an unmanned aircraft that is being
  used for a commercial purpose, if the operator is authorized by the
  Federal Aviation Administration to conduct operations over that
  airspace].
         (d)  An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor,
  except that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the actor has
  previously been convicted under this section or Section 423.0046.
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 423, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Section 423.0046 to read as follows:
         Sec. 423.0046.  OFFENSE: OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT OVER
  SPORTS VENUE.  (a)  In this section, "sports venue" means an arena,
  automobile racetrack, coliseum, stadium, or other type of area or
  facility that:
               (1)  has a seating capacity of 30,000 or more people;
  and
               (2)  is primarily used for one or more professional or
  amateur sports or athletics events.
         (b)  A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
  or knowingly operates an unmanned aircraft over a sports venue and
  the unmanned aircraft is not higher than 400 feet above ground
  level.
         (c)  This section does not apply to conduct described by
  Subsection (b) that is committed by:
               (1)  the federal government, the state, or a
  governmental entity;
               (2)  a person under contract with or otherwise acting
  under the direction or on behalf of the federal government, the
  state, or a governmental entity;
               (3)  a law enforcement agency;
               (4)  a person under contract with or otherwise acting
  under the direction or on behalf of a law enforcement agency;
               (5)  an operator of an unmanned aircraft that is being
  used for a commercial purpose, if the operation is conducted in
  compliance with:
                     (A)  each applicable Federal Aviation
  Administration rule, restriction, or exemption; and
                     (B)  all required Federal Aviation Administration
  authorizations;
               (6)  an owner or operator of the sports venue;
               (7)  a person under contract with or otherwise acting
  under the direction or on behalf of an owner or operator of the
  sports venue; or
               (8)  a person who has the prior written consent of the
  owner or operator of the sports venue.
         (d)  An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor,
  except that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the actor has
  previously been convicted under this section or Section 423.0045.
         SECTION 5.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
  An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
  governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
  and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
  purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
  effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
  before that date.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1424 was passed by the House on April
  28, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 135, Nays 1, 2 present, not
  voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
  H.B. No. 1424 on May 27, 2017, and requested the appointment of a
  conference committee to consider the differences between the two
  houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
  on H.B. No. 1424 on May 28, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 141,
  Nays 0, 2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1424 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 23, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
  committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
  that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
  1424 on May 28, 2017, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor       
feedback