Texas Outlaws Low Drone Flights Over Big Farms

HOUSTON (CN) – Fly a drone over a factory farm in Texas where cattle or pigs are raised in confinement and you could go to jail under a new law that critics call unconstitutional.

Responding to farmers’ fears that a biochemical attack launched from a drone could wipe out their stock and poison the food chain, House Bill 1643 adds concentrated animal feeding operations to the state’s list of “critical infrastructure.”

It’s a class B misdemeanor in Texas, punishable by up to 180 days in jail, to fly a drone lower than 400 feet above refineries, train depots, dams, natural gas and power plants and many other structures.

House Bill 1643, by Drew Springer, R-Muenster, adds oil drilling sites and cellphone towers to the no-flyover list. The Legislature sent the bill to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk Tuesday. Springer’s aide said Abbott is expected to sign it and it will take effect in September.


http://www.courthousenews.com/texas-outlaws-low-drone-flights-big-farms/