By: Powell, et al. S.B. No. 2299
 
 
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.