The Drones Law in Texas

CHAPTER 423. USE OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT
	Sec. 423.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "image" means
	any capturing of sound waves, thermal, infrared, ultraviolet,
	visible light, or other electromagnetic waves, odor, or other
	conditions existing on or about real property in this state or an
	individual located on that property.
	Sec. 423.002. NONAPPLICABILITY. (a) It is lawful to
	capture an image using an unmanned aircraft in this state:
	(1) for purposes of professional or scholarly research
	and development by a person acting on behalf of an institution of
	higher education, as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code,
	including a person who:
	(A) is a professor, employee, or student of the
	institution; or
	(B) is under contract with or otherwise acting
	under the direction or on behalf of the institution;
	(2) in airspace designated as a test site or range
	authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration for the purpose
	of integrating unmanned aircraft systems into the national
	airspace;
	(3) as part of an operation, exercise, or mission of
	any branch of the United States military;
	(4) if the image is captured by a satellite for the
	purposes of mapping;
	(5) if the image is captured by or for an electric or
	natural gas utility:
	(A) for operations and maintenance of utility
	facilities for the purpose of maintaining utility system
	reliability and integrity;
	(B) for inspecting utility facilities to
	determine repair, maintenance, or replacement needs during and
	after construction of such facilities;
	(C) for assessing vegetation growth for the
	purpose of maintaining clearances on utility easements; and
	(D) for utility facility routing and siting for
	the purpose of providing utility service;
	(6) with the consent of the individual who owns or
	lawfully occupies the real property captured in the image;
	(7) pursuant to a valid search or arrest warrant;
	(8) if the image is captured by a law enforcement
	authority or a person who is under contract with or otherwise acting
	under the direction or on behalf of a law enforcement authority:
	(A) in immediate pursuit of a person law
	enforcement officers have reasonable suspicion or probable cause to
	suspect has committed an offense, not including misdemeanors or
	offenses punishable by a fine only;
	(B) for the purpose of documenting a crime scene
	where an offense, not including misdemeanors or offenses punishable
	by a fine only, has been committed;
	(C) for the purpose of investigating the scene
	of:
	(i) a human fatality;
	(ii) a motor vehicle accident causing death
	or serious bodily injury to a person; or
	(iii) any motor vehicle accident on a state
	highway or federal interstate or highway;
	(D) in connection with the search for a missing
	person;
	(E) for the purpose of conducting a high-risk
	tactical operation that poses a threat to human life; or
	(F) of private property that is generally open to
	the public where the property owner consents to law enforcement
	public safety responsibilities;
	(9) if the image is captured by state or local law
	enforcement authorities, or a person who is under contract with or
	otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of state
	authorities, for the purpose of:
	(A) surveying the scene of a catastrophe or other
	damage to determine whether a state of emergency should be
	declared;
	(B) preserving public safety, protecting
	property, or surveying damage or contamination during a lawfully
	declared state of emergency; or
	(C) conducting routine air quality sampling and
	monitoring, as provided by state or local law;
	(10) at the scene of a spill, or a suspected spill, of
	hazardous materials;
	(11) for the purpose of fire suppression;
	(12) for the purpose of rescuing a person whose life or
	well-being is in imminent danger;
	(13) if the image is captured by a Texas licensed real
	estate broker in connection with the marketing, sale, or financing
	of real property, provided that no individual is identifiable in
	the image;
	(14) of real property or a person on real property that
	is within 25 miles of the United States border;
	(15) from a height no more than eight feet above ground
	level in a public place, if the image was captured without using any
	electronic, mechanical, or other means to amplify the image beyond
	normal human perception;
	(16) of public real property or a person on that
	property;
	(17) if the image is captured by the owner or operator
	of an oil, gas, water, or other pipeline for the purpose of
	inspecting, maintaining, or repairing pipelines or other related
	facilities, and is captured without the intent to conduct
	surveillance on an individual or real property located in this
	state;
	(18) in connection with oil pipeline safety and rig
	protection; or
	(19) in connection with port authority surveillance
	and security.
	(b) This chapter does not apply to the manufacture,
	assembly, distribution, or sale of an unmanned aircraft.
	Sec. 423.003. OFFENSE: ILLEGAL USE OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT TO
	CAPTURE IMAGE. (a) A person commits an offense if the person uses an
	unmanned aircraft to capture an image of an individual or privately
	owned real property in this state with the intent to conduct
	surveillance on the individual or property captured in the image.
	(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
	(c) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
	the person destroyed the image:
	(1) as soon as the person had knowledge that the image
	was captured in violation of this section; and
	(2) without disclosing, displaying, or distributing
	the image to a third party.
	(d) In this section, "intent" has the meaning assigned by
	Section 6.03, Penal Code.
	Sec. 423.004. OFFENSE: POSSESSION, DISCLOSURE, DISPLAY,
	DISTRIBUTION, OR USE OF IMAGE. (a) A person commits an offense if
	the person:
	(1) captures an image in violation of Section 423.003;
	and
	(2) possesses, discloses, displays, distributes, or
	otherwise uses that image.
	(b) An offense under this section for the possession of an
	image is a Class C misdemeanor. An offense under this section for
	the disclosure, display, distribution, or other use of an image is a
	Class B misdemeanor.
	(c) Each image a person possesses, discloses, displays,
	distributes, or otherwise uses in violation of this section is a
	separate offense.
	(d) It is a defense to prosecution under this section for
	the possession of an image that the person destroyed the image as
	soon as the person had knowledge that the image was captured in
	violation of Section 423.003.
	(e) It is a defense to prosecution under this section for
	the disclosure, display, distribution, or other use of an image
	that the person stopped disclosing, displaying, distributing, or
	otherwise using the image as soon as the person had knowledge that
	the image was captured in violation of Section 423.003.
	Sec. 423.005. ILLEGALLY OR INCIDENTALLY CAPTURED IMAGES NOT
	SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE. (a) Except as otherwise provided by
	Subsection (b), an image captured in violation of Section 423.003,
	or an image captured by an unmanned aircraft that was incidental to
	the lawful capturing of an image:
	(1) may not be used as evidence in any criminal or
	juvenile proceeding, civil action, or administrative proceeding;
	(2) is not subject to disclosure, inspection, or
	copying under Chapter 552; and
	(3) is not subject to discovery, subpoena, or other
	means of legal compulsion for its release.
	(b) An image described by Subsection (a) may be disclosed
	and used as evidence to prove a violation of this chapter and is
	subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of legal compulsion
	for that purpose.
	Sec. 423.006. CIVIL ACTION. (a) An owner or tenant of
	privately owned real property located in this state may bring
	against a person who, in violation of Section 423.003, captured an
	image of the property or the owner or tenant while on the property
	an action to:
	(1) enjoin a violation or imminent violation of
	Section 423.003 or 423.004;
	(2) recover a civil penalty of:
	(A) $5,000 for all images captured in a single
	episode in violation of Section 423.003; or
	(B) $10,000 for disclosure, display,
	distribution, or other use of any images captured in a single
	episode in violation of Section 423.004; or
	(3) recover actual damages if the person who captured
	the image in violation of Section 423.003 discloses, displays, or
	distributes the image with malice.
	(b) For purposes of recovering the civil penalty or actual
	damages under Subsection (a), all owners of a parcel of real
	property are considered to be a single owner and all tenants of a
	parcel of real property are considered to be a single tenant.
	(c) In this section, "malice" has the meaning assigned by
	Section 41.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
	(d) In addition to any civil penalties authorized under this
	section, the court shall award court costs and reasonable
	attorney's fees to the prevailing party.
	(e) Venue for an action under this section is governed by
	Chapter 15, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
	(f) An action brought under this section must be commenced
	within two years from the date the image was:
	(1) captured in violation of Section 423.003; or
	(2) initially disclosed, displayed, distributed, or
	otherwise used in violation of Section 423.004.
	Sec. 423.007. RULES FOR USE BY LAW ENFORCEMENT. The
	Department of Public Safety shall adopt rules and guidelines for
	use of an unmanned aircraft by a law enforcement authority in this
	state.
	Sec. 423.008. REPORTING BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. (a) Not
	earlier than January 1 and not later than January 15 of each
	odd-numbered year, each state law enforcement agency and each
	county or municipal law enforcement agency located in a county or
	municipality, as applicable, with a population greater than
	150,000, that used or operated an unmanned aircraft during the
	preceding 24 months shall issue a written report to the governor,
	the lieutenant governor, and each member of the legislature and
	shall:
	(1) retain the report for public viewing; and
	(2) post the report on the law enforcement agency's
	publicly accessible website, if one exists.
	(b) The report must include:
	(1) the number of times an unmanned aircraft was used,
	organized by date, time, location, and the types of incidents and
	types of justification for the use;
	(2) the number of criminal investigations aided by the
	use of an unmanned aircraft and a description of how the unmanned
	aircraft aided each investigation;
	(3) the number of times an unmanned aircraft was used
	for a law enforcement operation other than a criminal
	investigation, the dates and locations of those operations, and a
	description of how the unmanned aircraft aided each operation;
	(4) the type of information collected on an
	individual, residence, property, or area that was not the subject
	of a law enforcement operation and the frequency of the collection
	of this information; and
	(5) the total cost of acquiring, maintaining,
	repairing, and operating or otherwise using each unmanned aircraft
	for the preceding 24 months.
	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
	to the capture, possession, disclosure, display, distribution, or
	other use of an image that occurs on or after the effective date of
	this Act.
	SECTION 4. The provisions of this Act or the applications of
	those provisions are severable as provided by Section 311.032(c),
	Government Code.
	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.


	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House


	I certify that H.B. No. 912 was passed by the House on May 10,
	2013, by the following vote: Yeas 128, Nays 11, 2 present, not
	voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
	H.B. No. 912 on May 21, 2013, and requested the appointment of a
	conference committee to consider the differences between the two
	houses; that the House adopted the conference committee report on
	H.B. No. 912 on May 26, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays
	4, 2 present, not voting; and that the House adopted H.C.R. No. 217
	authorizing certain corrections in H.B. No. 912 on May 27, 2013, by
	the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 3, 2 present, not voting.

	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House

	I certify that H.B. No. 912 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 17, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 29, Nays
	1; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
	committee to consider the differences between the two houses; that
	the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No. 912
	on May 26, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 26, Nays 5; and that
	the Senate adopted H.C.R. No. 217 authorizing certain corrections
	in H.B. No. 912 on May 27, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
	0.

	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date

	__________________
	Governor