By: Powell S.B. No. 2299
(In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2019; March 21, 2019, read
first time and referred to Committee on Veteran Affairs & Border
Security; April 9, 2019, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 7, Nays 0; April 9, 2019, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of the offense of operation of an
unmanned aircraft over certain facilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 423.0045(a)(1), Government Code, as
amended by Chapters 824 (H.B. 1643) and 1010 (H.B. 1424), Acts of
the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, is reenacted 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.
SECTION 2. Section 423.0045(a)(1-a), Government Code, is
reenacted to conform to the changes made to Section 423.0045(a)(1),
Government Code, by Chapter 824 (H.B. 1643), Acts of the 85th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, and is further amended to read
as follows:
(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 or any structure used as part of a system to
provide wired or wireless telecommunications services;
(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;
(xii) a dam that is classified as a high
hazard by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; [or]
(xiii) a concentrated animal feeding
operation, as defined by Section 26.048, Water Code; or
(xiv) a military installation owned or
operated by or for the federal government, the state, or another
governmental entity; or
(B) if enclosed by a fence or other physical
barrier obviously designed to exclude intruders:
(i) any portion of an aboveground oil, gas,
or chemical pipeline;
(ii) an oil or gas drilling site;
(iii) a group of tanks used to store crude
oil, such as a tank battery;
(iv) an oil, gas, or chemical production
facility;
(v) an oil or gas wellhead; or
(vi) any oil and gas facility that has an
active flare.
SECTION 3. Section 423.0045(c), Government Code, as amended
by Chapters 824 (H.B. 1643) and 1010 (H.B. 1424), Acts of the 85th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, is reenacted to read as
follows:
(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) the federal government, the state, or a
governmental entity;
(B) 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) a law enforcement agency;
(D) 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) an owner or operator of the critical
infrastructure facility;
(B) 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) a person who has the prior written consent of
the owner or operator of the critical infrastructure facility; or
(D) 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.
SECTION 4. 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 5. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
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