H.B. No. 3082
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to investigating and prosecuting the criminal offense of
  operating an unmanned aircraft over or near 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, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
  follows:
         (b)  A person commits an offense if the person with criminal
  negligence [intentionally or knowingly]:
               (1)  operates an unmanned aircraft over a correctional
  facility, detention facility, or critical infrastructure facility
  and the unmanned aircraft is not higher than 400 feet above ground
  level;
               (2)  allows an unmanned aircraft to make contact with a
  correctional facility, detention facility, or critical
  infrastructure facility, including any person or object on the
  premises of or within the facility; or
               (3)  allows an unmanned aircraft to come within a
  distance of a correctional facility, detention facility, or
  critical infrastructure facility that is close enough to interfere
  with the operations of or cause a disturbance to the facility.
         (e)  A peace officer who investigates an offense under this
  section shall notify the Department of Public Safety of the
  investigation. The department may require further information from
  the officer as the department determines necessary.
         SECTION 4.  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 5.  Section 423.0045, Government Code, as amended 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 6. 
   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 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3082 was passed by the House on May 3,
  2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 141, Nays 0, 1 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 3082 on May 24, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 142, Nays 0,
  2 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 3082 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 21, 2019, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays
  0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor