Tex. Penal Code § 42.14 · Chapter 42. DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND RELATED OFFENSES
ILLUMINATION OF AIRCRAFT BY INTENSE LIGHT.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A person commits an offense if:
(1) the person intentionally directs a light from a laser pointer or other light source at an aircraft; and
(2) the light has an intensity sufficient to impair the operator's ability to control the aircraft.
(b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor was using the light to send an emergency distress signal.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor unless the intensity of the light impairs the operator's ability to control the aircraft, in which event the offense is a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) If conduct that constitutes an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under any other law, the actor may be prosecuted under this section or the other law.
(e) In this section, "laser pointer" has the meaning assigned by Section 42.13.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 680 (H.B. 1586), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.42.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 6ea990d0eafed98e9d7c47f28b0d4f0c3d59ab0fd504c86019bfd631d2c3d4b1
- 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
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
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.