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House Bill 912 |
House Author: Gooden et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-13 |
Senate Sponsor: Estes |
House Bill 912 enacts the Texas Privacy Act and amends the Government Code to create the Class C misdemeanor offense of illegal use of an unmanned aircraft to capture an image for a person who uses an unmanned aircraft to capture an image of an individual or privately owned real property in Texas with the intent to conduct surveillance on the individual or property captured in the image. The bill establishes a defense to prosecution for the offense if the person destroyed the image in a specified manner. The bill defines "image" as any capturing of sound waves, thermal, infrared, ultraviolet, visible light, or other electromagnetic waves, odor, or other conditions existing on or about real property in Texas or an individual located on that property. The bill makes it a Class C misdemeanor to capture an image in the previously described manner and to possess that image, makes it a Class B misdemeanor to capture an image in that manner and to disclose, display, distribute, or otherwise use that image, and establishes a defense to prosecution for these offenses under certain circumstances. The bill makes each image a person possesses, discloses, displays, distributes, or otherwise uses in committing such an offense a separate offense. The bill prohibits an image captured by the illegal use of an unmanned aircraft or by an unmanned aircraft that was incidental to the lawful capturing of an image from being used as evidence in criminal proceedings, civil actions, and administrative proceedings and exempts such an image from any disclosure or legal compulsion requirements, except to prove a violation under the bill's provisions.
House Bill 912 authorizes an owner or tenant of private property in Texas to bring an action against a person who illegally captured an image of the property or owner or tenant while on the property by using an unmanned aircraft to enjoin a violation under the bill's provisions or to recover a civil penalty or actual damages and establishes venue and a deadline for bringing such action. The bill requires the Department of Public Safety to adopt rules and guidelines for use of an unmanned aircraft by a law enforcement authority in Texas and requires each state law enforcement agency and certain county or municipal law enforcement agencies that used or operated an unmanned aircraft during the preceding 24 months to issue, each odd-numbered year, a written report containing specified statistics regarding the agency's use of such aircraft to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and each member of the legislature. The bill requires an agency to retain the report for public viewing and to post the report on the agency's publicly accessible website, if one exists. The bill sets out the circumstances under which it is lawful to capture an image using an unmanned aircraft in Texas.