The department may enter certain land or water for enforcement and research, but private-land information use and reporting are restricted without written consent.
Sec. 12.103. ENTERING LAND; USE OF INFORMATION OBTAINED BY ENTRY; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) To enforce the game and fish laws of the state and to conduct scientific investigations and research regarding wild game or fish, an authorized employee of the department may enter on any land or water where wild game or fish are known to range or stray. No action may be sustained against an employee of the department to prevent his entering on land or water when acting in his official capacity as described by this subsection. (b) Except as provided by Subsection (d) or (d-1), the department may use information collected by an employee of the department on privately owned land only for the purposes of scientific investigations and research described in Subsection (a) and only if authorized in writing by the landowner or the landowner's agent. Unless the department first obtains the written consent of the landowner or the landowner's agent, the department may not: (1) use other incidental information obtained on the land that does not pertain directly to the investigation or research authorized under Subsection (a); or (2) enter or permit the entry of any information that does not pertain directly to the investigation or research authorized under Subsection (a), into a database: (A) maintained by the department and available to a person other than a department employee; (B) maintained by a natural heritage program administered by the department; or (C) established and maintained by any other person. (c) Except as provided by Subsection (d) or (d-1), information collected under this section may only be reported or compiled in a manner that prevents the identification of an individual parcel or specific parcels of private property without the written consent of the landowner or the landowner's agent. (d) The department may collect and enter data as necessary relating to the occurrence or harvest of natural resources in public land or water. The department may collect and report standardized annual wildlife survey information required by the Pitman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. Section 669 et seq.). (d-1) The department may disclose information collected under this section to the Texas Animal Health Commission as needed to carry out a governmental purpose. (e) The department is liable to a private landowner for a civil penalty in the amount of $1,000 for a violation of this section involving information collected by an employee of the department on the landowner's property. A landowner may bring suit to collect the penalty in the county in which the land is located or the county in which the landowner resides. Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 1405, ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1975. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 521, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995. Amended by: Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 247 (S.B. 811), Sec. 5, eff. May 27, 2023.