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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to a law enforcement agency's use of deadly force by means |
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of a drone. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 9.54, Penal Code, is amended by amending |
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Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as follows: |
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(b) Notwithstanding any other law and subject to Subsection |
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(c), the use of force, including deadly force, involving a drone is |
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justified under this subchapter only if: |
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(1) at the time the use of force occurred, the actor |
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was employed by a law enforcement agency; |
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(2) the use of force: |
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(A) would have been justified under another |
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provision of this subchapter; and |
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(B) did not involve the use of deadly force by |
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means of an autonomous drone; and |
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(3) before the use of force occurred, the law |
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enforcement agency employing the actor adopted and submitted to the |
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Texas Commission on Law Enforcement a policy on the agency's use of |
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force by means of a drone, as required by Article 2.33, Code of |
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Criminal Procedure, and the use of force conformed to the |
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requirements of that policy. |
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(c) The use of deadly force involving a drone is justified |
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under Subsection (b) only if: |
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(1) the actor reasonably believes that the use of |
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deadly force by means of a drone is necessary to protect the actor |
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or another from an imminent threat of death or serious bodily |
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injury; and |
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(2) before the actor's use of deadly force occurred, |
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the head of the law enforcement agency employing the actor, on a |
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case-by-case basis, specifically approved the actor's use of deadly |
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force by means of a drone. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |