Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB523 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R2487 JRR-D
2	2	By: Birdwell S.B. No. 523
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; or
22	22	(B) a municipal or county jail.
23	23	(1-a) "Critical infrastructure facility" means:
24	24	(A) one of the following, if completely enclosed
25	25	by a fence or other physical barrier that is obviously designed to
26	26	exclude intruders, or if clearly marked with a sign or signs that
27	27	are posted on the property, are reasonably likely to come to the
28	28	attention of intruders, and indicate that entry is forbidden:
29	29	(i) a petroleum or alumina refinery;
30	30	(ii) an electrical power generating
31	31	facility, substation, switching station, or electrical control
32	32	center;
33	33	(iii) a chemical, polymer, or rubber
34	34	manufacturing facility;
35	35	(iv) a water intake structure, water
36	36	treatment facility, wastewater treatment plant, or pump station;
37	37	(v) a natural gas compressor station;
38	38	(vi) a liquid natural gas terminal or
39	39	storage facility;
40	40	(vii) a telecommunications central
41	41	switching office;
42	42	(viii) a port, railroad switching yard,
43	43	trucking terminal, or other freight transportation facility;
44	44	(ix) a gas processing plant, including a
45	45	plant used in the processing, treatment, or fractionation of
46	46	natural gas;
47	47	(x) a transmission facility used by a
48	48	federally licensed radio or television station;
49	49	(xi) a steelmaking facility that uses an
50	50	electric arc furnace to make steel; or
51	51	(xii) a dam that is classified as a high
52	52	hazard by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; or
53	53	(B) any portion of an aboveground oil, gas, or
54	54	chemical pipeline that is enclosed by a fence or other physical
55	55	barrier that is obviously designed to exclude intruders.
56	56	SECTION 3. Sections 423.0045(b) and (c), Government Code,
57	57	are amended to read as follows:
58	58	(b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
59	59	or knowingly:
60	60	(1) operates an unmanned aircraft over a correctional
61	61	facility or critical infrastructure facility and the unmanned
62	62	aircraft is not higher than 400 feet above ground level;
63	63	(2) allows an unmanned aircraft to make contact with a
64	64	correctional facility or critical infrastructure facility,
65	65	including any person or object on the premises of or within the
66	66	facility; or
67	67	(3) allows an unmanned aircraft to come within a
68	68	distance of a correctional facility or critical infrastructure
69	69	facility that is close enough to interfere with the operations of or
70	70	cause a disturbance to the facility.
71	71	(c) This section does not apply to:
72	72	(1) conduct described by Subsection (b) that involves
73	73	a correctional facility or critical infrastructure facility and
74	74	[that] is committed by:
75	75	(A) [(1)] the federal government, the state, or a
76	76	governmental entity;
77	77	(B) [(2)] a person under contract with or
78	78	otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of the federal
79	79	government, the state, or a governmental entity;
80	80	(C) [(3)] a law enforcement agency;
81	81	(D) [(4)] a person under contract with or
82	82	otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of a law
83	83	enforcement agency; or
84	84	(E) an operator of an unmanned aircraft that is
85	85	being used for a commercial purpose, if the operator is authorized
86	86	by the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct operations over
87	87	that airspace; or
88	88	(2) conduct described by Subsection (b) that involves
89	89	a critical infrastructure facility and is committed by:
90	90	(A) [(5)] an owner or operator of the critical
91	91	infrastructure facility;
92	92	(B) [(6)] a person under contract with or
93	93	otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of an owner or
94	94	operator of the critical infrastructure facility;
95	95	(C) [(7)] a person who has the prior written
96	96	consent of the owner or operator of the critical infrastructure
97	97	facility; or
98	98	(D) [(8)] the owner or occupant of the property
99	99	on which the critical infrastructure facility is located or a
100	100	person who has the prior written consent of the owner or occupant of
101	101	that property[; or
102	102	[(9) an operator of an unmanned aircraft that is being
103	103	used for a commercial purpose, if the operator is authorized by the
104	104	Federal Aviation Administration to conduct operations over that
105	105	airspace].
106	106	SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
107	107	to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
108	108	An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
109	109	governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
110	110	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
111	111	purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
112	112	effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
113	113	before that date.
114	114	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.