By: Hancock  S.B. No. 1308
         (In the Senate - Filed February 28, 2023; March 9, 2023,
  read first time and referred to Committee on Veteran Affairs;
  March 22, 2023, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7,
  Nays 0; March 22, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the operation of an unmanned aircraft over an airport or
  military installation; creating a criminal offense.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 42, Penal Code, is amended by adding
  Section 42.15 to read as follows:
         Sec. 42.15.  OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT OVER AIRPORT OR
  MILITARY INSTALLATION. (a) In this section:
               (1)  "Airport" has the meaning assigned by Section
  22.001, Transportation Code.
               (2)  "Military installation" means any military
  installation owned or operated by or for the federal government,
  this state, or another governmental entity.
         (b)  A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
  or knowingly:
               (1)  operates an unmanned aircraft over an airport or
  military installation and the unmanned aircraft is not higher than
  400 feet above ground level;
               (2)  allows an unmanned aircraft to make contact with
  an airport or military installation, including any person or object
  on the premises of or within the airport or military installation;
  or
               (3)  allows an unmanned aircraft to come within a
  distance of an airport or military installation that is close
  enough to interfere with the operations of or cause a disturbance to
  the airport or military installation.
         (c)  It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
  the conduct described by Subsection (b) was engaged in by:
               (1)  the federal government, this state, or a
  governmental entity;
               (2)  a person under contract with or otherwise acting
  under the direction or on behalf of the federal government, this
  state, or a governmental entity;
               (3)  a law enforcement agency;
               (4)  a person under contract with or otherwise acting
  under the direction or on behalf of a law enforcement agency;
               (5)  an owner or operator of the airport or military
  installation;
               (6)  a person under contract with or otherwise acting
  under the direction or on behalf of an owner or operator of the
  airport or military installation;
               (7)  a person who has the prior written consent of the
  owner or operator of the airport or military installation; or
               (8)  the owner or occupant of the property on which the
  airport or military installation is located or a person who has the
  prior written consent of the owner or occupant of that property.
         (d)  An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor,
  except that the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if the actor has
  previously been convicted under this section.
         SECTION 2.  Section 423.0045(a)(1-a), Government Code, is
  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, [a public or private airport
  depicted in any current aeronautical chart published by the Federal
  Aviation Administration,] a railroad switching yard, a trucking
  terminal, or any 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 424.001, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 424.001.  DEFINITION. In this chapter, "critical
  infrastructure facility" has the meaning assigned by Section
  423.0045(a)(1-a) and also includes:
               (1)  any pipeline transporting oil or gas or the
  products or constituents of oil or gas; [and]
               (2)  a public or private airport depicted in any
  current aeronautical chart published by the Federal Aviation
  Administration;
               (3)  a military installation owned or operated by or
  for the federal government, this state, or another governmental
  entity; and
               (4)  a facility or pipeline described by this section
  that is under construction and all equipment and appurtenances used
  during that construction.
         SECTION 4.  The changes in law made by this Act apply 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 was committed before that
  date.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
 
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