| 1 | 1 | | 88R9481 JRR-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Geren H.B. No. 2365 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the operation of an unmanned aircraft over an airport or |
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| 8 | 8 | | military installation; creating a criminal offense. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 42, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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| 11 | 11 | | Section 42.15 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 42.15. OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT OVER AIRPORT OR |
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| 13 | 13 | | MILITARY INSTALLATION. (a) In this section: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (1) "Airport" has the meaning assigned by Section |
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| 15 | 15 | | 22.001, Transportation Code. |
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| 16 | 16 | | (2) "Military installation" means any military |
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| 17 | 17 | | installation owned or operated by or for the federal government, |
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| 18 | 18 | | this state, or another governmental entity. |
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| 19 | 19 | | (b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally |
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| 20 | 20 | | or knowingly: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (1) operates an unmanned aircraft over an airport or |
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| 22 | 22 | | military installation and the unmanned aircraft is not higher than |
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| 23 | 23 | | 400 feet above ground level; |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2) allows an unmanned aircraft to make contact with |
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| 25 | 25 | | an airport or military installation, including any person or object |
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| 26 | 26 | | on the premises of or within the airport or military installation; |
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| 27 | 27 | | or |
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| 28 | 28 | | (3) allows an unmanned aircraft to come within a |
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| 29 | 29 | | distance of an airport or military installation that is close |
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| 30 | 30 | | enough to interfere with the operations of or cause a disturbance to |
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| 31 | 31 | | the airport or military installation. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that |
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| 33 | 33 | | the conduct described by Subsection (b) was engaged in by: |
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| 34 | 34 | | (1) the federal government, this state, or a |
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| 35 | 35 | | governmental entity; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (2) a person under contract with or otherwise acting |
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| 37 | 37 | | under the direction or on behalf of the federal government, this |
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| 38 | 38 | | state, or a governmental entity; |
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| 39 | 39 | | (3) a law enforcement agency; |
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| 40 | 40 | | (4) a person under contract with or otherwise acting |
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| 41 | 41 | | under the direction or on behalf of a law enforcement agency; |
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| 42 | 42 | | (5) an owner or operator of the airport or military |
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| 43 | 43 | | installation; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (6) a person under contract with or otherwise acting |
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| 45 | 45 | | under the direction or on behalf of an owner or operator of the |
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| 46 | 46 | | airport or military installation; |
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| 47 | 47 | | (7) a person who has the prior written consent of the |
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| 48 | 48 | | owner or operator of the airport or military installation; or |
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| 49 | 49 | | (8) the owner or occupant of the property on which the |
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| 50 | 50 | | airport or military installation is located or a person who has the |
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| 51 | 51 | | prior written consent of the owner or occupant of that property. |
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| 52 | 52 | | (d) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, |
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| 53 | 53 | | except that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the actor has |
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| 54 | 54 | | previously been convicted under this section. |
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| 55 | 55 | | SECTION 2. Section 423.0045(a)(1-a), Government Code, is |
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| 56 | 56 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 57 | 57 | | (1-a) "Critical infrastructure facility" means: |
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| 58 | 58 | | (A) one of the following, if completely enclosed |
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| 59 | 59 | | by a fence or other physical barrier that is obviously designed to |
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| 60 | 60 | | exclude intruders, or if clearly marked with a sign or signs that |
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| 61 | 61 | | are posted on the property, are reasonably likely to come to the |
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| 62 | 62 | | attention of intruders, and indicate that entry is forbidden: |
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| 63 | 63 | | (i) a petroleum or alumina refinery; |
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| 64 | 64 | | (ii) an electrical power generating |
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| 65 | 65 | | facility, substation, switching station, or electrical control |
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| 66 | 66 | | center; |
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| 67 | 67 | | (iii) a chemical, polymer, or rubber |
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| 68 | 68 | | manufacturing facility; |
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| 69 | 69 | | (iv) a water intake structure, water |
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| 70 | 70 | | treatment facility, wastewater treatment plant, or pump station; |
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| 71 | 71 | | (v) a natural gas compressor station; |
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| 72 | 72 | | (vi) a liquid natural gas terminal or |
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| 73 | 73 | | storage facility; |
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| 74 | 74 | | (vii) a telecommunications central |
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| 75 | 75 | | switching office or any structure used as part of a system to |
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| 76 | 76 | | provide wired or wireless telecommunications services; |
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| 77 | 77 | | (viii) a port, [a public or private airport |
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| 78 | 78 | | depicted in any current aeronautical chart published by the Federal |
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| 79 | 79 | | Aviation Administration,] a railroad switching yard, a trucking |
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| 80 | 80 | | terminal, or any other freight transportation facility; |
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| 81 | 81 | | (ix) a gas processing plant, including a |
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| 82 | 82 | | plant used in the processing, treatment, or fractionation of |
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| 83 | 83 | | natural gas; |
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| 84 | 84 | | (x) a transmission facility used by a |
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| 85 | 85 | | federally licensed radio or television station; |
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| 86 | 86 | | (xi) a steelmaking facility that uses an |
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| 87 | 87 | | electric arc furnace to make steel; |
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| 88 | 88 | | (xii) a dam that is classified as a high |
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| 89 | 89 | | hazard by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; or |
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| 90 | 90 | | (xiii) a concentrated animal feeding |
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| 91 | 91 | | operation, as defined by Section 26.048, Water Code; or |
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| 92 | 92 | | [(xiv) a military installation owned or |
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| 93 | 93 | | operated by or for the federal government, the state, or another |
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| 94 | 94 | | governmental entity; or] |
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| 95 | 95 | | (B) if enclosed by a fence or other physical |
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| 96 | 96 | | barrier obviously designed to exclude intruders: |
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| 97 | 97 | | (i) any portion of an aboveground oil, gas, |
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| 98 | 98 | | or chemical pipeline; |
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| 99 | 99 | | (ii) an oil or gas drilling site; |
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| 100 | 100 | | (iii) a group of tanks used to store crude |
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| 101 | 101 | | oil, such as a tank battery; |
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| 102 | 102 | | (iv) an oil, gas, or chemical production |
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| 103 | 103 | | facility; |
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| 104 | 104 | | (v) an oil or gas wellhead; or |
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| 105 | 105 | | (vi) any oil and gas facility that has an |
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| 106 | 106 | | active flare. |
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| 107 | 107 | | SECTION 3. Section 424.001, Government Code, is amended to |
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| 108 | 108 | | read as follows: |
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| 109 | 109 | | Sec. 424.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "critical |
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| 110 | 110 | | infrastructure facility" has the meaning assigned by Section |
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| 111 | 111 | | 423.0045(a)(1-a) and also includes: |
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| 112 | 112 | | (1) any pipeline transporting oil or gas or the |
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| 113 | 113 | | products or constituents of oil or gas; [and] |
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| 114 | 114 | | (2) a public or private airport depicted in any |
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| 115 | 115 | | current aeronautical chart published by the Federal Aviation |
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| 116 | 116 | | Administration; |
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| 117 | 117 | | (3) a military installation owned or operated by or |
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| 118 | 118 | | for the federal government, this state, or another governmental |
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| 119 | 119 | | entity; and |
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| 120 | 120 | | (4) a facility or pipeline described by this section |
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| 121 | 121 | | that is under construction and all equipment and appurtenances used |
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| 122 | 122 | | during that construction. |
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| 123 | 123 | | SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 124 | 124 | | an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An |
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| 125 | 125 | | offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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| 126 | 126 | | by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the |
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| 127 | 127 | | former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of |
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| 128 | 128 | | this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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| 129 | 129 | | this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that |
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| 130 | 130 | | date. |
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| 131 | 131 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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