By: Murphy, Workman (Senate Sponsor - Birdwell) H.B. No. 1424          (In the Senate - Received from the House May 1, 2017;   May 4, 2017, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal   Justice; May 19, 2017, reported favorably by the following vote:     Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 19, 2017, 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 certain   facilities or sports venues; creating a criminal offense.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  The heading to Section 423.0045, Government   Code, is amended to read as follows:          Sec. 423.0045.  OFFENSE: OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT OVER   CORRECTIONAL FACILITY, DETENTION FACILITY, OR CRITICAL   INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY.          SECTION 2.  Section 423.0045(a), Government Code, is amended   by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivisions (1-a) and (3)   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.                (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;                            (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                      (B)  any portion of an aboveground oil, gas, or   chemical pipeline that is enclosed by a fence or other physical   barrier that is obviously designed to exclude intruders.                (3)  "Detention facility" means a facility operated by   or under contract with United States Immigration and Customs   Enforcement for the purpose of detaining aliens and placing them in   removal proceedings.          SECTION 3.  Sections 423.0045(b), (c), and (d), Government   Code, are amended to read as follows:          (b)  A person commits an offense if the person 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.          (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) [(1)]  the federal government, the state, or a   governmental entity;                      (B) [(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;                      (C) [(3)]  a law enforcement agency;                      (D) [(4)]  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) [(5)]  an owner or operator of the critical   infrastructure facility;                      (B) [(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;                      (C) [(7)]  a person who has the prior written   consent of the owner or operator of the critical infrastructure   facility; or                      (D) [(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 operator is authorized by the   Federal Aviation Administration to conduct operations over that   airspace].          (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 or Section 423.0046.          SECTION 4.  Chapter 423, Government Code, is amended by   adding Section 423.0046 to read as follows:          Sec. 423.0046.  OFFENSE: OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT OVER   SPORTS VENUE.  (a)  In this section, "sports venue" means an arena,   automobile racetrack, coliseum, stadium, or other type of area or   facility that:                (1)  has a seating capacity of 30,000 or more people;   and                (2)  is primarily used for one or more professional or   amateur sports or athletics events.          (b)  A person commits an offense if the person operates an   unmanned aircraft over a sports venue and the unmanned aircraft is   not higher than 400 feet above ground level.          (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 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;                (6)  an owner or operator of the sports venue;                (7)  a person under contract with or otherwise acting   under the direction or on behalf of an owner or operator of the   sports venue; or                (8)  a person who has the prior written consent of the   owner or operator of the sports venue.          (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 or Section 423.0045.          SECTION 5.  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 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.     * * * * *