SB2569

Regular Session

Relating to the reporting requirement for certain law enforcement agencies regarding the agencies' use or operation of an unmanned aircraft.

LowStandard timeline

Low Cost

Effective:2025-09-01

Enforcing Agencies

State Law Enforcement Agencies • County Law Enforcement Agencies (in counties with population > 150,000) • Municipal Law Enforcement Agencies (in municipalities with population > 150,000)

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline: January 15, 2027 (This is the deadline for the first biennial report filed under the new statute; however, data collection for this report covers the preceding 24 months starting January 2025).
Agency Rulemaking: No specific rulemaking is mandated. The statute is self-executing. However, agencies must internally define "publicly accessible" standards if they lack a dedicated website.

Immediate Action Plan

Immediate: Notify your drone program coordinators and legal team that the filing recipient has changed from the State Capital to the Public Website.
Q3 2025: Audit current drone usage data collection methods to ensure the output is compatible with web publishing standards.
Q4 2026: Schedule a "Go/No-Go" review of the biennial report data for privacy compliance prior to the January 2027 posting window.
Ongoing: Verify if your jurisdiction's population has crossed the 150,000 threshold; if so, compliance becomes mandatory immediately.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Vendor Reporting Obligations: Review Master Service Agreements (MSAs) with drone software providers and private operators. Scope of Work (SOW) clauses requiring "Legislative Reporting Packets" must be amended to require "Web-Ready Public Disclosures" (e.g., ADA-compliant PDFs or HTML data).
Indemnification: Ensure contracts with private drone operators explicitly require them to deliver usage data to the LEA by December 31 of even-numbered years to ensure the LEA meets the January 1–15 statutory posting window.

Hiring/Training

IT Coordination: The Drone Program Coordinator must establish a direct workflow with the agency’s Webmaster or IT Director. Posting protocols must be established to ensure the report is uploaded between January 1 and January 15 of odd-numbered years.
Privacy Review: Staff responsible for compiling reports must be trained on redaction. Because reports are now direct-to-public, inadvertent disclosure of sensitive surveillance details carries higher immediate reputational and legal risk.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Format Shift: Cease preparation of physical or digital transmission packages for the Governor and Legislature effective September 1, 2025.
Data Retention: Maintain flight logs, usage classifications, and operational hour records for a rolling 24-month period. The report posted in January 2027 must accurately reflect operations from January 2025 through December 2026.

Fees & Costs

Budget Impact: Negligible. Costs are limited to administrative time for data compilation and web management. No filing fees are associated with this change.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

"Otherwise Make Available": The statute allows agencies without a website to "otherwise make the report available to the public." This is legally vague. Relying on physical bulletin boards or hard-copy files upon request invites litigation regarding accessibility. If your agency lacks a website, utilize a verified social media channel or third-party hosting to create a defensible digital footprint.
Data Granularity: The bill changes the *destination* of the report, not the *content* required by Section 423.008. However, the shift to public posting creates a gray zone regarding how much operational detail (e.g., specific flight paths) should be revealed versus summarized to protect ongoing investigations while satisfying transparency mandates.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsCriminal Procedure Criminal Procedure--general Electronic Information Systems Transportation Transportation--aviation Aeronautics Law Enforcement Public Notice

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 2569
89R16512 JRR-D	By: Flores
	Criminal Justice
	4/4/2025
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

During the 83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, passed H.B. 912, which created Chapter 423 in the Texas Government Code. H.B. 912 was introduced in response to the rapid increase in drone usage, and established prohibitions, criminal penalties, and reporting requirements for law enforcement agencies (LEA).

Since 2013, the technology and use of UAs has rapidly increased. The Department of Public Safety went from 35 reports in 2017 to now nearly 50,000 per year. The report is so large that computers used around the legislature have a difficult time opening the file. Further, making the physical copy is financially burdensome and time consuming.

S.B. 2569 modernizes the reporting requirements by simply requiring LEAs to post their reports to their public facing website.

As proposed, S.B. 2569 amends current law relating to the reporting requirement for certain law enforcement agencies regarding the agencies' use or operation of an unmanned aircraft.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 423.008(a), Government Code, as follows:

(a) Requires each state law enforcement agency and each county or municipal law enforcement agency located in a county or municipality, as applicable, with a population greater than 150,000, that used or operated an unmanned aircraft during the preceding 24 months, not earlier than January 1 and not later than January 15 of each odd-numbered year, to post a report regarding the agency's use or operation of unmanned aircraft on the agency's publicly accessible Internet website or, if the agency does not have a publicly accessible Internet website, otherwise make the report available to the public.

Deletes existing text requiring each state law enforcement agency and each county or municipal law enforcement agency located in a county or municipality, as applicable, with a population greater than 150,000, that used or operated an unmanned aircraft during the preceding 24 months, not earlier than January 1 and not later than January 15 of each odd-numbered year, to issue a written report to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and each member of the legislature and to retain the report for public viewing and post the report on the law enforcement agency's publicly accessible Internet website, if one exists. Makes nonsubstantive changes.

SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2025.

Senate Authors

Sen. Peter FloresRepublican · Primary Author

House Sponsor

Rep. John LujanRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

S.B. No. 2569

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the reporting requirement for certain law enforcement
	agencies regarding the agencies' use or operation of an unmanned
	aircraft.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 423.008(a), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(a) Not earlier than January 1 and not later than January 15
	of each odd-numbered year, each state law enforcement agency and
	each county or municipal law enforcement agency located in a county
	or municipality, as applicable, with a population greater than
	150,000, that used or operated an unmanned aircraft during the
	preceding 24 months shall [~~issue a written report to the governor,~~
	~~the lieutenant governor, and each member of the legislature and~~
	~~shall:~~
	[~~(1) retain the report for public viewing; and~~
	[~~(2)~~] post a [~~the~~] report regarding the agency's use or
	operation of unmanned aircraft on the [~~law enforcement~~] agency's
	publicly accessible Internet website or, if the agency does not
	have a publicly accessible Internet website, otherwise make the
	report available to the public [~~one exists~~].
	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


April 7, 2025

TO:	Honorable Pete Flores, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	SB2569 by Flores (Relating to the reporting requirement for certain law enforcement agencies regarding the agencies' use or operation of an unmanned aircraft.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

It is assumed that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed using existing resources.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

405 Department of Public Safety, 696 Department of Criminal Justice, 802 Parks and Wildlife Department

LBB Staff:

JMc, MGol, CSh, KVEL

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about SB2569

What does Texas SB2569 do?

SB2569 fundamentally alters the compliance workflow for drone reporting by State, County, and Municipal law enforcement agencies (in jurisdictions >150,000 population), shifting the requirement from a legislative filing to a mandatory public website posting. This change eliminates the administrative burden of filing with the Governor and Legislature but increases liability exposure by making drone usage data immediately accessible to the general public and potential litigants. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: January 15, 2027 (This is the deadline for the first biennial report filed under the new statute; however, data collection for this report covers the preceding 24 months starting January 2025).

Who authored SB2569?

SB2569 was authored by Texas Senator Peter Flores during the Regular Session.

When was SB2569 signed into law?

SB2569 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce SB2569?

SB2569 is enforced by State Law Enforcement Agencies, County Law Enforcement Agencies (in counties with population > 150,000) and Municipal Law Enforcement Agencies (in municipalities with population > 150,000).

How urgent is compliance with SB2569?

The compliance urgency for SB2569 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of SB2569?

The cost impact of SB2569 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does SB2569 address?

SB2569 addresses topics including criminal procedure, criminal procedure--general, electronic information systems, transportation and transportation--aviation.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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