Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB638 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R2880 JCG-F
2	2	By: Workman H.B. No. 638
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prosecution of the offense of operation of unmanned
8	8	aircraft over correctional facility or critical infrastructure
9	9	facility.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. The heading to Section 423.0045, Government
12	12	Code, is amended to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 423.0045. OFFENSE: OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT OVER
14	14	CORRECTIONAL FACILITY OR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY.
15	15	SECTION 2. Section 423.0045(a), Government Code, is amended
16	16	by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as
17	17	follows:
18	18	(1) "Correctional facility" means:
19	19	(A) a confinement facility operated by or under
20	20	contract with any division of the Texas Department of Criminal
21	21	Justice;
22	22	(B) a municipal or county jail; or
23	23	(C) a secure correctional facility or secure
24	24	detention facility, as defined by Section 51.02, Family Code.
25	25	(1-a) "Critical infrastructure facility" means:
26	26	(A) one of the following, if completely enclosed
27	27	by a fence or other physical barrier that is obviously designed to
28	28	exclude intruders, or if clearly marked with a sign or signs that
29	29	are posted on the property, are reasonably likely to come to the
30	30	attention of intruders, and indicate that entry is forbidden:
31	31	(i) a petroleum or alumina refinery;
32	32	(ii) an electrical power generating
33	33	facility, substation, switching station, or electrical control
34	34	center;
35	35	(iii) a chemical, polymer, or rubber
36	36	manufacturing facility;
37	37	(iv) a water intake structure, water
38	38	treatment facility, wastewater treatment plant, or pump station;
39	39	(v) a natural gas compressor station;
40	40	(vi) a liquid natural gas terminal or
41	41	storage facility;
42	42	(vii) a telecommunications central
43	43	switching office;
44	44	(viii) a port, railroad switching yard,
45	45	trucking terminal, or other freight transportation facility;
46	46	(ix) a gas processing plant, including a
47	47	plant used in the processing, treatment, or fractionation of
48	48	natural gas;
49	49	(x) a transmission facility used by a
50	50	federally licensed radio or television station;
51	51	(xi) a steelmaking facility that uses an
52	52	electric arc furnace to make steel; or
53	53	(xii) a dam that is classified as a high
54	54	hazard by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; or
55	55	(B) any portion of an aboveground oil, gas, or
56	56	chemical pipeline that is enclosed by a fence or other physical
57	57	barrier that is obviously designed to exclude intruders.
58	58	SECTION 3. Sections 423.0045(b) and (c), Government Code,
59	59	are amended to read as follows:
60	60	(b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
61	61	or knowingly:
62	62	(1) operates an unmanned aircraft over a correctional
63	63	facility or critical infrastructure facility and the unmanned
64	64	aircraft is not higher than 400 feet above ground level;
65	65	(2) allows an unmanned aircraft to make contact with a
66	66	correctional facility or critical infrastructure facility,
67	67	including any person or object on the premises of or within the
68	68	facility; or
69	69	(3) allows an unmanned aircraft to come within a
70	70	distance of a correctional facility or critical infrastructure
71	71	facility that is close enough to interfere with the operations of or
72	72	cause a disturbance to the facility.
73	73	(c) This section does not apply to:
74	74	(1) conduct described by Subsection (b) that involves
75	75	a correctional facility or critical infrastructure facility and
76	76	[that] is committed by:
77	77	(A) [(1)] the federal government, the state, or a
78	78	governmental entity;
79	79	(B) [(2)] a person under contract with or
80	80	otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of the federal
81	81	government, the state, or a governmental entity;
82	82	(C) [(3)] a law enforcement agency;
83	83	(D) [(4)] a person under contract with or
84	84	otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of a law
85	85	enforcement agency; or
86	86	(E) an operator of an unmanned aircraft that is
87	87	being used for a commercial purpose, if the operator is authorized
88	88	by the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct operations over
89	89	that airspace; or
90	90	(2) conduct described by Subsection (b) that involves
91	91	a critical infrastructure facility and is committed by:
92	92	(A) [(5)] an owner or operator of the critical
93	93	infrastructure facility;
94	94	(B) [(6)] a person under contract with or
95	95	otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of an owner or
96	96	operator of the critical infrastructure facility;
97	97	(C) [(7)] a person who has the prior written
98	98	consent of the owner or operator of the critical infrastructure
99	99	facility; or
100	100	(D) [(8)] the owner or occupant of the property
101	101	on which the critical infrastructure facility is located or a
102	102	person who has the prior written consent of the owner or occupant of
103	103	that property[; or
104	104	[(9) an operator of an unmanned aircraft that is being
105	105	used for a commercial purpose, if the operator is authorized by the
106	106	Federal Aviation Administration to conduct operations over that
107	107	airspace].
108	108	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
109	109	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
110	110	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
111	111	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
112	112	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
113	113	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
114	114	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
115	115	before that date.
116	116	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.