Tex. Parks & Wild. Code § 31.074 · Subchapter C. REQUIRED EQUIPMENT
VISUAL DISTRESS SIGNAL.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) In this section:
(1) "Coastal waters" means the water that lies within nine nautical miles from the coastline of this state.
(2) "Uninspected passenger vessel" has the meaning assigned by 46 C.F.R. Section 24.10-1.
(3) "Visual distress signal" means a device that is approved and required by the commandant of the United States Coast Guard for the purpose of indicating a vessel in distress, including flares, smoke signals, and non-pyrotechnic signals.
(b) No person may operate on the coastal waters a vessel that is 16 feet or more in length, or any vessel operating as an uninspected passenger vessel, unless the vessel is equipped with readily accessible visual distress signals approved for day and night use in the number required by the commandant of the United States Coast Guard.
(c) Between sunset and sunrise, no person may operate on the coastal waters a vessel less than 16 feet in length unless the vessel is equipped with readily accessible visual distress signals approved for night use in the number required by the commandant of the United States Coast Guard.
(d) No person may operate a vessel on coastal waters unless each visual distress signal required under this section is in serviceable condition and the service life of the signal, if indicated by a date marked on the signal, has not expired.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 286 (H.B. 1106), Sec. 7, eff. September 1, 2013.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PW/htm/PW.31.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 5341d94c9e12df76ee4b65576b97911cd4cee48dead6dc1cfaf818f893a33f09
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.