Bill Text: TX HB1643 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of the operation of an unmanned aircraft and the prosecution of a related criminal offense.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 5)

Status: (Passed) 2017-06-15 - Effective on 9/1/17 [HB1643 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB1643-Enrolled.html

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H.B. No. 1643

AN ACT
relating to the regulation of the operation of an unmanned aircraft
and the prosecution of a related criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 423.0045(a)(1), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(1) "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 or any structure used as part of a system to
provide wired or wireless telecommunications services;
(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
(xiii) a concentrated animal feeding
operation, as defined by Section 26.048, Water Code; or
(B) if enclosed by a fence or other physical
barrier obviously designed to exclude intruders:
(i) any portion of an aboveground oil, gas,
or chemical pipeline;
(ii) an oil or gas drilling site;
(iii) a group of tanks used to store crude
oil, such as a tank battery;
(iv) an oil, gas, or chemical production
facility;
(v) an oil or gas wellhead; or
(vi) any oil and gas facility that has an
active flare [that is enclosed by a fence or other physical barrier
that is obviously designed to exclude intruders].
SECTION 2. Section 423.0045(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(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 owner or operator of the critical
infrastructure facility;
(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;
(7) a person who has the prior written consent of the
owner or operator of the critical infrastructure facility;
(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 operation is conducted in
compliance with:
(A) each applicable Federal Aviation
Administration rule, restriction, or exemption; and
(B) all required Federal Aviation Administration
authorizations [operator is authorized by the Federal Aviation
Administration to conduct operations over that airspace].
SECTION 3. Chapter 423, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 423.009 to read as follows:
Sec. 423.009. REGULATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT BY POLITICAL
SUBDIVISION. (a) In this section:
(1) "Political subdivision" includes a county, a joint
board created under Section 22.074, Transportation Code, and a
municipality.
(2) "Special event" means a festival, celebration, or
other gathering that:
(A) involves:
(i) the reservation and temporary use of
all or a portion of a public park, road, or other property of a
political subdivision; and
(ii) entertainment, the sale of
merchandise, food, or beverages, or mass participation in a sports
event; and
(B) requires a significant use or coordination of
a political subdivision's services.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a political
subdivision may not adopt or enforce any ordinance, order, or other
similar measure regarding the operation of an unmanned aircraft.
(c) A political subdivision may adopt and enforce an
ordinance, order, or other similar measure regarding:
(1) the use of an unmanned aircraft during a special
event;
(2) the political subdivision's use of an unmanned
aircraft; or
(3) the use of an unmanned aircraft near a facility or
infrastructure owned by the political subdivision, if the political
subdivision:
(A) applies for and receives authorization from
the Federal Aviation Administration to adopt the regulation; and
(B) after providing reasonable notice, holds a
public hearing on the political subdivision's intent to apply for
the authorization.
(d) An ordinance, order, or other similar measure that
violates Subsection (b) is void and unenforceable.
SECTION 4. Section 423.0045, Government Code, as amended 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 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1643 was passed by the House on May
11, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 135, Nays 8, 2 present, not
voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
H.B. No. 1643 on May 26, 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. 1643 on May 28, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 143,
Nays 2, 1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1643 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 24, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 27, Nays
4; 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.
1643 on May 28, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 26, Nays 5.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor