Bill Text: TX SB59 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to certain images captured by an unmanned aircraft.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-05-17 - Committee report sent to Calendars [SB59 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB59-Comm_Sub.html
86R33895 JCG-F | ||
By: Zaffirini | S.B. No. 59 | |
(Zerwas) | ||
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 59: No. |
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relating to certain images captured by an unmanned aircraft. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 423.002(a), Government Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
(a) It is lawful to capture an image using an unmanned | ||
aircraft in this state: | ||
(1) for the purpose of professional or scholarly | ||
research and development or for another academic purpose by a | ||
person acting on behalf of an institution of higher education or a | ||
private or independent institution of higher education, as those | ||
terms are 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 or a telecommunications provider: | ||
(A) for operations and maintenance of utility or | ||
telecommunications facilities for the purpose of maintaining | ||
utility or telecommunications system reliability and integrity; | ||
(B) for inspecting utility or telecommunications | ||
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 or telecommunications | ||
easements; and | ||
(D) for utility or telecommunications facility | ||
routing and siting for the purpose of providing utility or | ||
telecommunications 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; | ||
(F) of private property that is generally open to | ||
the public where the property owner consents to law enforcement | ||
public safety responsibilities; or | ||
(G) of real property or a person on real property | ||
that is within 25 miles of the United States border for the sole | ||
purpose of ensuring border security; | ||
(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) 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; | ||
(15) of public real property or a person on that | ||
property; | ||
(16) 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; | ||
(17) in connection with oil pipeline safety and rig | ||
protection; | ||
(18) in connection with port authority surveillance | ||
and security; | ||
(19) if the image is captured by a registered | ||
professional land surveyor in connection with the practice of | ||
professional surveying, as those terms are defined by Section | ||
1071.002, Occupations Code, provided that no individual is | ||
identifiable in the image; | ||
(20) if the image is captured by a professional | ||
engineer licensed under Subchapter G, Chapter 1001, Occupations | ||
Code, in connection with the practice of engineering, as defined by | ||
Section 1001.003, Occupations Code, provided that no individual is | ||
identifiable in the image; [ |
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(21) if: | ||
(A) the image is captured by an employee of an | ||
insurance company or of an affiliate of the company in connection | ||
with the underwriting of an insurance policy, or the rating or | ||
adjusting of an insurance claim, regarding real property or a | ||
structure on real property; and | ||
(B) the operator of the unmanned aircraft is | ||
authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct | ||
operations within the airspace from which the image is captured; | ||
(22) if: | ||
(A) the image is captured by a state agency or | ||
local health authority: | ||
(i) for the purpose of assessing unsafe | ||
environmental conditions when physical entry onto the property is | ||
unsafe due to conditions such as an abandoned swimming pool, | ||
illegal dumping of refuse, or a chemical leak or spill; and | ||
(ii) in response to an inspection, or | ||
attempted inspection, on commercial property or to a disaster, as | ||
defined by Section 418.004; and | ||
(B) the state agency or local health authority: | ||
(i) provides notice to the owner or manager | ||
of the property, as applicable, before the agency or authority | ||
captures the image; or | ||
(ii) determines that conditions on the | ||
property are an imminent threat to public health; | ||
(23) if the image is captured for the purpose of | ||
disaster preparedness, including for the inspection, maintenance, | ||
or repair of public infrastructure, by a county or a person who is | ||
under contract with or otherwise acting under the direction or on | ||
behalf of a county; or | ||
(24) if the image is captured by a governmental entity | ||
or a person contracted by or under the direction of a governmental | ||
entity, for the purpose of: | ||
(A) the provision of 9-1-1 service; or | ||
(B) a mapping project or service other than a | ||
project or service for a law enforcement purpose. | ||
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |