By: Springer (Senate Sponsor - Seliger) H.B. No. 1643          (In the Senate - Received from the House May 12, 2017;   May 12, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal   Justice; May 19, 2017, reported adversely, with favorable   Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0;   May 19, 2017, sent to printer.)Click here to see the committee vote     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1643 By:  Whitmire     A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT     relating to the prosecution of the criminal 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, is   amended to read as follows:                (1)  "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; [or]                            (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                      (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 [that is enclosed by a fence or other physical barrier   that is obviously designed to exclude intruders].          SECTION 2.  Section 423.0045(c), Government Code, is amended   to read as follows:          (c)  This section does not apply to conduct described by   Subsection (b) that is committed by:                (1)  the federal government, the state, or a   governmental entity;                (2)  a person under contract with or otherwise acting   under the direction or on behalf of the federal government, the   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 critical   infrastructure facility;                (6)  a person under contract with or otherwise acting   under the direction or on behalf of an owner or operator of the   critical infrastructure facility;                (7)  a person who has the prior written consent of the   owner or operator of the critical infrastructure facility;                (8)  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; or                (9)  an operator of an unmanned aircraft that is being   used for a commercial purpose, if the operation is conducted in   compliance with:                      (A)  each applicable Federal Aviation   Administration rule, restriction, or exemption; and                      (B)  all required Federal Aviation Administration   authorizations [operator is authorized by the Federal Aviation   Administration to conduct operations over that airspace].          SECTION 3.  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 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.     * * * * *