Bill Text: TX HB3251 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the use of unmanned aircraft.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-05-13 - Point of order sustained Rule 4, Section 32(c)(2) [HB3251 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB3251-Introduced.html
87R10104 JCG-F | ||
By: Thompson of Brazoria | H.B. No. 3251 |
|
||
|
||
relating to the use of unmanned aircraft. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 423.001, Government Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 423.001. DEFINITIONS [ |
||
(1) "Capture" means the actual care, custody, control, | ||
or management of any physical or electronic representation of an | ||
image that is capable of being copied or destroyed. | ||
(2) "Image [ |
||
waves, thermal, infrared, ultraviolet, visible light, or other | ||
electromagnetic waves, odor, or other conditions existing on or | ||
about real property in this state or an individual located on that | ||
property. | ||
(3) "Surveillance" means the intentional and | ||
continuous close observation of an individual or property. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 423.002(a), Government Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
(a) It is lawful to capture an image using an unmanned | ||
aircraft in this state: | ||
(1) for the purpose of professional or scholarly | ||
research and development or for another academic purpose by a | ||
person acting on behalf of an institution of higher education or a | ||
private or independent institution of higher education, as those | ||
terms are defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, including a | ||
person who: | ||
(A) is a professor, employee, or student of the | ||
institution; or | ||
(B) is under contract with or otherwise acting | ||
under the direction or on behalf of the institution; | ||
(2) in airspace designated as a test site or range | ||
authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration for the purpose | ||
of integrating unmanned aircraft systems into the national | ||
airspace; | ||
(3) as part of an operation, exercise, or mission of | ||
any branch of the United States military; | ||
(4) if the image is captured by a satellite for the | ||
purposes of mapping; | ||
(5) if the image is captured by or for an electric or | ||
natural gas utility or a telecommunications provider: | ||
(A) for operations and maintenance of utility or | ||
telecommunications facilities for the purpose of maintaining | ||
utility or telecommunications system reliability and integrity; | ||
(B) for inspecting utility or telecommunications | ||
facilities to determine repair, maintenance, or replacement needs | ||
during and after construction of such facilities; | ||
(C) for assessing vegetation growth for the | ||
purpose of maintaining clearances on utility or telecommunications | ||
easements; and | ||
(D) for utility or telecommunications facility | ||
routing and siting for the purpose of providing utility or | ||
telecommunications service; | ||
(6) with the consent of the individual who owns or | ||
lawfully occupies the real property captured in the image; | ||
(7) pursuant to a valid search or arrest warrant; | ||
(8) if the image is captured by a law enforcement | ||
authority or a person who is under contract with or otherwise acting | ||
under the direction or on behalf of a law enforcement authority: | ||
(A) in immediate pursuit of a person law | ||
enforcement officers have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to | ||
suspect has committed an offense, [ |
||
offenses punishable by a fine only; | ||
(B) for the purpose of documenting a crime scene | ||
where an offense, [ |
||
punishable by a fine only, has been committed; | ||
(C) for the purpose of investigating the scene | ||
of: | ||
(i) a human fatality; | ||
(ii) a motor vehicle accident causing death | ||
or serious bodily injury to a person; or | ||
(iii) any motor vehicle accident on a state | ||
highway or federal interstate or highway; | ||
(D) in connection with the search for a missing | ||
person; | ||
(E) for the purpose of conducting a high-risk | ||
tactical operation that poses a threat to human life; | ||
(F) of private property if [ |
||
connection with a purpose described by Paragraph (A), (B), (C), | ||
(D), or (E) [ |
||
or | ||
(G) of real property or a person on real property | ||
that is within 25 miles of the United States border for the sole | ||
purpose of ensuring border security; | ||
(9) if the image is captured by state or local law | ||
enforcement authorities, or a person who is under contract with or | ||
otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of state | ||
authorities, for the purpose of: | ||
(A) surveying the scene of a catastrophe or other | ||
damage to determine whether a state of emergency should be | ||
declared; | ||
(B) preserving public safety, protecting | ||
property, or surveying damage or contamination during a lawfully | ||
declared state of emergency; or | ||
(C) conducting routine air quality sampling and | ||
monitoring, as provided by state or local law; | ||
(10) at the scene of a spill, or a suspected spill, of | ||
hazardous materials; | ||
(11) for the purpose of fire suppression; | ||
(12) for the purpose of rescuing a person whose life or | ||
well-being is in imminent danger; | ||
(13) if the image is captured by a Texas licensed real | ||
estate broker in connection with the marketing, sale, or financing | ||
of real property, provided that no individual is identifiable in | ||
the image; | ||
(14) [ |
||
[ |
||
property; | ||
(15) [ |
||
operator of an oil, gas, water, or other pipeline for the purpose of | ||
inspecting, maintaining, or repairing pipelines or other related | ||
facilities, and is captured without the intent to conduct | ||
surveillance on an individual or real property located in this | ||
state; | ||
(16) [ |
||
rig protection; | ||
(17) [ |
||
surveillance and security; | ||
(18) [ |
||
professional land surveyor in connection with the practice of | ||
professional surveying, as those terms are defined by Section | ||
1071.002, Occupations Code, provided that no individual is | ||
identifiable in the image; | ||
(19) [ |
||
engineer licensed under Subchapter G, Chapter 1001, Occupations | ||
Code, in connection with the practice of engineering, as defined by | ||
Section 1001.003, Occupations Code, provided that no individual is | ||
identifiable in the image; or | ||
(20) [ |
||
(A) the image is captured by an employee of an | ||
insurance company or of an affiliate of the company in connection | ||
with the underwriting of an insurance policy, or the rating or | ||
adjusting of an insurance claim, regarding real property or a | ||
structure on real property; and | ||
(B) the operator of the unmanned aircraft is | ||
authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct | ||
operations within the airspace from which the image is captured. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 423.008, Government Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(a) This section applies to each: | ||
(1) state law enforcement agency; | ||
(2) county law enforcement agency located in a county | ||
with a population greater than 150,000; and | ||
(3) municipal law enforcement agency located in a | ||
municipality with a population greater than 150,000. | ||
(a-1) Not earlier than January 1 and not later than January | ||
15 of each odd-numbered year, each [ |
||
[ |
||
the preceding 24 months shall: | ||
(1) issue a written report to the governor, the | ||
lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, | ||
and the Legislative Reference Library in a form and manner | ||
prescribed by the recipient; [ |
||
(2) [ |
||
(3) [ |
||
agency's publicly accessible website, if one exists. | ||
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply 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, 2021. |