Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB106 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	85R17569 JRR-D
2		-	By: Martinez, Guillen H.B. No. 106
3		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 106:
4		-	By: Schaefer C.S.H.B. No. 106
	1	+	By: Martinez, Guillen, Blanco H.B. No. 106
5	2
6	3
7	4		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	5		AN ACT
9	6		relating to certain images captured by an unmanned aircraft.
10	7		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	8		SECTION 1. Section 423.002(a), Government Code, is amended
12	9		to read as follows:
13	10		(a) It is lawful to capture an image using an unmanned
14	11		aircraft in this state:
15	12		(1) for the purpose of professional or scholarly
16	13		research and development or for another academic purpose by a
17	14		person acting on behalf of an institution of higher education or a
18	15		private or independent institution of higher education, as those
19	16		terms are defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, including a
20	17		person who:
21	18		(A) is a professor, employee, or student of the
22	19		institution; or
23	20		(B) is under contract with or otherwise acting
24	21		under the direction or on behalf of the institution;
25	22		(2) in airspace designated as a test site or range
26	23		authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration for the purpose
27	24		of integrating unmanned aircraft systems into the national
28	25		airspace;
29	26		(3) as part of an operation, exercise, or mission of
30	27		any branch of the United States military;
31	28		(4) if the image is captured by a satellite for the
32	29		purposes of mapping;
33	30		(5) if the image is captured by or for an electric or
34	31		natural gas utility or a telecommunications provider:
35	32		(A) for operations and maintenance of utility or
36	33		telecommunications facilities for the purpose of maintaining
37	34		utility or telecommunications system reliability and integrity;
38	35		(B) for inspecting utility or telecommunications
39	36		facilities to determine repair, maintenance, or replacement needs
40	37		during and after construction of such facilities;
41	38		(C) for assessing vegetation growth for the
42	39		purpose of maintaining clearances on utility or telecommunications
43	40		easements; and
44	41		(D) for utility or telecommunications facility
45	42		routing and siting for the purpose of providing utility or
46	43		telecommunications service;
47	44		(6) with the consent of the individual who owns or
48	45		lawfully occupies the real property captured in the image;
49	46		(7) pursuant to a valid search or arrest warrant;
50	47		(8) if the image is captured by a law enforcement
51	48		authority or a person who is under contract with or otherwise acting
52	49		under the direction or on behalf of a law enforcement authority:
53	50		(A) in immediate pursuit of a person law
54	51		enforcement officers have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to
55	52		suspect has committed an offense, not including misdemeanors or
56	53		offenses punishable by a fine only;
57	54		(B) for the purpose of documenting a crime scene
58	55		where an offense, not including misdemeanors or offenses punishable
59	56		by a fine only, has been committed;
60	57		(C) for the purpose of investigating the scene
61	58		of:
62	59		(i) a human fatality;
63	60		(ii) a motor vehicle accident causing death
64	61		or serious bodily injury to a person; or
65	62		(iii) any motor vehicle accident on a state
66	63		highway or federal interstate or highway;
67	64		(D) in connection with the search for a missing
68	65		person;
69	66		(E) for the purpose of conducting a high-risk
70	67		tactical operation that poses a threat to human life; or
71	68		(F) of private property that is generally open to
72	69		the public where the property owner consents to law enforcement
73	70		public safety responsibilities;
74	71		(9) if the image is captured by state or local law
75	72		enforcement authorities, or a person who is under contract with or
76	73		otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of state
77	74		authorities, for the purpose of:
78	75		(A) surveying the scene of a catastrophe or other
79	76		damage to determine whether a state of emergency should be
80	77		declared;
81	78		(B) preserving public safety, protecting
82	79		property, or surveying damage or contamination during a lawfully
83	80		declared state of emergency; or
84	81		(C) conducting routine air quality sampling and
85	82		monitoring, as provided by state or local law;
86	83		(10) at the scene of a spill, or a suspected spill, of
87	84		hazardous materials;
88	85		(11) for the purpose of fire suppression;
89	86		(12) for the purpose of rescuing a person whose life or
90	87		well-being is in imminent danger;
91	88		(13) if the image is captured by a Texas licensed real
92	89		estate broker in connection with the marketing, sale, or financing
93	90		of real property, provided that no individual is identifiable in
94	91		the image;
95	92		(14) [of real property or a person on real property
96	93		that is within 25 miles of the United States border;
97	94		[(15)] from a height no more than eight feet above
98	95		ground level in a public place, if the image was captured without
99	96		using any electronic, mechanical, or other means to amplify the
100	97		image beyond normal human perception;
101	98		(15) [(16)] of public real property or a person on
102	99		that property;
103	100		(16) [(17)] if the image is captured by the owner or
104	101		operator of an oil, gas, water, or other pipeline for the purpose of
105	102		inspecting, maintaining, or repairing pipelines or other related
106	103		facilities, and is captured without the intent to conduct
107	104		surveillance on an individual or real property located in this
108	105		state;
109	106		(17) [(18)] in connection with oil pipeline safety and
110	107		rig protection;
111	108		(18) [(19)] in connection with port authority
112	109		surveillance and security;
113	110		(19) [(20)] if the image is captured by a registered
114	111		professional land surveyor in connection with the practice of
115	112		professional surveying, as those terms are defined by Section
116	113		1071.002, Occupations Code, provided that no individual is
117		-	identifiable in the image; or
	114	+	identifiable in the image; [or]
118	115		(20) [(21)] if the image is captured by a professional
119	116		engineer licensed under Subchapter G, Chapter 1001, Occupations
120	117		Code, in connection with the practice of engineering, as defined by
121	118		Section 1001.003, Occupations Code, provided that no individual is
122		-	identifiable in the image.
	119	+	identifiable in the image;
	120	+	(21) if the image is captured by an employee of an
	121	+	insurance company or of an affiliate of the company in connection
	122	+	with the underwriting of an insurance policy, or the rating or
	123	+	adjusting of an insurance claim, regarding real property or a
	124	+	structure on real property and if the operator of the unmanned
	125	+	aircraft is authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to
	126	+	conduct operations within the airspace from which the image is
	127	+	captured; or
	128	+	(22) if:
	129	+	(A) the image is captured only for the purpose of
	130	+	delivering consumer goods that were ordered through an Internet
	131	+	website or mobile application and the operator of the unmanned
	132	+	aircraft is authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to
	133	+	conduct operations within the airspace from which the image is
	134	+	captured;
	135	+	(B) the image is necessary to the purpose
	136	+	described by Paragraph (A), including images captured for purposes
	137	+	of navigation or ensuring public safety;
	138	+	(C) no individual is identifiable in the image;
	139	+	(D) the image is not publicly displayed,
	140	+	distributed, or disclosed; and
	141	+	(E) the original image, and all copies and
	142	+	backups of the image, are destroyed promptly following the delivery
	143	+	of the consumer goods described by Paragraph (A).
123	144		SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
124	145		to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
125	146		An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
126	147		governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
127	148		and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
128	149		purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
129	150		effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
130	151		before that date.
131	152		SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.