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Sponsor Tells Committee Bill Would Regulate Law‑Enforcement Drone Use and Update Ohio’s Aviation Definitions
Summary
A sponsor told the panel that House Bill 251 would generally require warrants for law‑enforcement UAV surveillance, allow limited warrantless exceptions, ban arming drones with lethal weapons and extend ODOT certification to seaplane bases, vertiports and spaceports; the bill received a first hearing.
At a May 20 first hearing, a sponsor told the Ohio House Transportation Committee that House Bill 251 seeks to modernize state law on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used by law enforcement and to update Ohio’s aeronautics laws to recognize seaplane bases, heliports, vertiports and spaceports as aviation infrastructure requiring Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) approval for commercial use.
“The bill brings the use of UAVs into alignment with constitutional standards,” the sponsor told the committee, saying the measure would “generally require law enforcement to obtain a search warrant…
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