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