Current Unmanned Aircraft State Law Landscape

State UAS Legislation
Federal UAS Regulation
NCSL Resources
Legislative Summit Resources
2013 Fall Forum Resources
State Resources
Additional Resources

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Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones, have a host of applications including law enforcement, land surveillance, wildlife tracking, search and rescue operations, disaster response, border patrol and photography.

State legislatures across the country are debating if and how UAS technology should be regulated, taking into account the benefits of their use, privacy concerns and their potential economic impact. So far, 26 states have enacted laws addressing UAS issues and an additional six states have adopted resolutions. Common issues addressed in the legislation include defining what a UAS, UAV or drone is, how they can be used by law enforcement or other state agencies, how they can be used by the general public and regulations for their use in hunting game.

State UAS Legislation

Since the beginning of 2013 legislative sessions, state lawmakers have considered many pieces of legislation addressing UAS. To learn more about state UAS laws, bills and resolutions, please follow a link covering measures from a specific session below.

In 2015, 45 states considered 168 bills related to drones. Twenty states–Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia–passed 26 pieces of legislation. Five other states–Alaska, Georgia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island–adopted resolutions related to drones. Georgia’s resolution established a House study committee on the use of drones and New Mexico adopted memorials in the house and senate requiring a study on protecting wildlife from drones. Pennsylvania's resolution directs the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study on the use of UAS by state and local agencies and Rhode Island's resolution created a legislative commission to study and review regulation of UAS. Additionally, Virginia's governor signed an executive order establishing a commission on unmanned systems. Florida and Kentucky have prefiled bills for the 2016 legislative session.

Arkansas HB 1349 prohibits the use of UAS to commit voyeurism. HB 1770 prohibits the use of UAS to collect information about or photographically or electronically record information about critical infrastructure without consent.

California AB 856 prohibits entering the airspace of an individual in order to capture an image or recording of that individual engaging in a private, personal, or familial activity without permission. This legislation is a response to the use of UAS by the paparazzi.

Florida SB 766 prohibits the use of a drone to capture an image of privately owned property or the owner, tenant, or occupant of such property without consent if a reasonable expectation of privacy exists.

Hawaii SB 661 creates a chief operating officer position for the Hawaii unmanned aerial systems test site. It also establishes an unmanned aerial systems test site advisory board to plan and oversee test site development and appropriates funds to establish the test site.

Illinois SB 44 creates a UAS Oversight Task Force which is tasked with considering commercial and private use of UAS, landowner and privacy rights and general rules and regulations for the safe operation of UAS. The task force will prepare recommendations for the use of UAS in the state.

Louisiana SB 183 regulates the use of UAS in agricultural commercial operations.

Maine LD 25 requires law enforcement agencies receive approval before acquiring UAS. The bill also specifies that the use of UAS by law enforcement comply with all FAA requirements and guidelines. Requires a warrant to use UAS for criminal investigations except in certain circumstances and sets out standards for the operation of UAS by law enforcement.

Maryland SB 370 specifies that only the state can enact laws to prohibit, restrict, or regulate the testing or operation of unmanned aircraft systems. This preempts county and municipal authority. The bill also requires a study on specified benefits.

Michigan SB 54 prohibits using UAS to interfere with or harass an individual who is hunting. SB 55 prohibits using UAS to take game.

Mississippi SB 2022 specifies that using a drone to commit "peeping tom" activities is a felony.

Nevada AB 239 includes UAS in the definition of aircraft and regulates the operators of UAS. It also prohibits the weaponization of UAS and prohibits the use of UAS within a certain distance of critical facilities and airports without permission. The bill specifies certain restrictions on the use of UAS by law enforcement and public agencies and requires the creation of a registry of all UAS operated by public agencies in the state.

New Hampshire SB 222 prohibits the use of UAS for hunting, fishing, or trapping.

North Carolina SB 446 expands the authority of the state's Chief Information Officer to approve the purchase and operation of UAS by the state and modifies the state regulation of UAS to conform to FAA guidelines.

North Dakota HB 1328 provides limitations for the use of UAS for surveillance.

Oregon HB 2534 requires the development of rules prohibiting the use of UAS for angling, hunting, trapping, or interfering with a person who is lawfully angling, trapping, or hunting. HB 2354 changes the term "drone" to "unmanned aircraft system" in statute.

Tennessee HB 153 prohibits using a drone to capture an image over certain open-air events and fireworks displays. It also prohibits the use of UAS over the grounds of a correctional facility.

Texas HB 3628 permits the creation of rules governing the use of UAS in the Capitol Complex and provides that a violation of those rules is a Class B misdemeanor. HB 2167 permits individuals in certain professions to capture images used in those professions using UAS as long as no individual is identifiable in the image. HB 1481 makes it a Class B misdemeanor to operate UAS over a critical infrastructure facility if the UAS is not more than 400 feet off the ground.

Utah HB 296 allows a law enforcement agency to use an unmanned aircraft system to collect data at a testing site and to locate a lost or missing person in an area in which a person has no reasonable expectation of privacy. It also institutes testing requirements for a law enforcement agency's use of an unmanned aircraft system.

Virginia HB 2125 and SB 1301 require that a law enforcement agency obtain a warrant before using a drone for any purpose, except in limited circumstances. Virginia's governor also issued an executive order establishing a commission on unmanned systems.

West Virginia HB 2515 prohibits hunting with UAS.

Federal UAS Regulation

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a proposed rulemaking on UAS. The proposal, issued on February 15, 2015, specifies requirements for operation of a UAS, including:

Must weigh less than 55 pounds.
May only operate during standard daylight hours and within visual sight.
Must fly no higher than 500 feet and go no faster than 100 mph.
Must be operated by a person at least 17 years or older that has passed a FAA knowledge test.
Must be registered, but does not require an airworthiness certification. The FAA also indicated that it was also considering issuing separate regulations for UAS weighing less than 4.4 pounds.

For a complete breakdown of FAA’s proposal, please review NCSL’s info alert.

NEW! On Nov. 23, the FAA released a set of recommendations by the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Registration Task Force that was established in October 2015 at the direction of U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx and FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. The Task Force included members from the aviation industry, law enforcement and manufacturers of drones. The most notable recommendation suggests that FAA should institute a requirement that drones weighing between 250 grams and 55 pounds and operating in the National Air Space be required to electronically register, at no cost, with the FAA by providing the owner's name and street address. Other recommendations from the task force include a requirement that registrants be at least 13 years old and that registrants receive one registration number that is affixed to all their drones, rather than one registration number per drone. A draft rule based on the recommendations has been submitted to Secretary Foxx and Administrator Huerta for their review. Although no formal timetable for the rule’s release has been announced, Secretary Foxx has previously noted his desire to finalize a rule before the end of 2015.

The Government Accountability Office released a report entitled "Unmanned Aerial Systems: FAA Continues Progress toward Integration into the National Airspace" in July 2015.

Alongside the proposal, the FAA has also provided a limited number of exemptions for companies prior to the rules being finalized, including an exemption for Amazon in mid-March, although Amazon noted in a March Wall Street Journal article that they had already moved on to a new UAS prototype. More information about the FAA's work with UAS can be found here.

The 2012 Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act requires the FAA to integrate UAS into civilian airspace by 2015. To complete this task, the law also charges the FAA with establishing six test sites where operating standards for UAS can be researched and developed by collecting information to determine the best way to integrate UAS into the existing aviation system. These test sites are located in six states: Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia.

State Resources

Alaska: Legislative Task Force on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Final Report to the Legislature, June 30, 2014.
Alaska: Legislative Task Force on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Interim Report to the Legislature, Jan. 15, 2014.
Connecticut: Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee, Drone Use Regulation, Dec. 11, 2014.
Connecticut: Office of Legislative Research, Research Report: Privacy Protections Implied by the Domestic Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or Drones, May 12, 2014.
Connecticut: Office of Legislative Research, Drone Laws in Other States, Oct. 22, 2013.
Georgia: House Study Committee on the Use of Drones, Report of the Committee, Dec. 1, 2015.
Iowa: Department of Public Safety, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Legislative Report, December 2014.
North Carolina: State Chief Information Officer, Unmanned Aircraft Use in North Carolina, March 2014.
Oklahoma: Report of the Governor’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Council, A Strategic Plan for the Development of an Unmanned Aerial Systems Enterprise, Spring 2012.
Virginia: Department of Criminal Justice Services, Protocols for the Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems by Law-Enforcement Agencies, Nov. 1, 2013.

Additional Resources

Congressional Research Service Report | "Drones in Domestic Surveillance Operations: Fourth Amendment Implications and Legislative Responses," PDF
Airline Safety Forum, video, July 2013 | James H. Williams, manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Office, Aviation Safety Organization, Federal Aviation Administration
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, The Future of Drones in America: Law Enforcement and Privacy Considerations, March 20, 2013, PDF

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