Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Drone Mitigation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances bill allowing law enforcement to mitigate 'nefarious drones' with exceptions for parades and productions
Summary
House Bill 261 would permit state law enforcement to mitigate drones deemed nefarious—including jamming, interception or physical capture—while providing exceptions for parades and film productions; committee reported the bill favorably after noting the State Police vetted it.
BATON ROUGE, La. — House Bill 261, which would authorize state law enforcement to mitigate unmanned aircraft systems deemed nefarious, was reported favorably by the Senate Committee on Judiciary C on May 20 after committee members heard the measure and received assurances from State Police that it had been vetted.
Senator Kleinpeter, presenting the bill for the House sponsor, said the measure allows law enforcement to “mitigate nefarious drones” and includes an amendment exempting recognized uses such as parades and film productions to avoid unintended interference with legitimate activity. He said recent months have shown drones can carry heavier payloads and pose rising risks to sensitive facilities including petrochemical installations and nuclear plants.
The bill authorizes a range of mitigation measures, described in committee as including jamming, interception or physical capture, and grants law enforcement the authority to act under certain conditions. The committee record included white cards from State Police representatives and other aviation experts indicating willingness to provide technical information if requested; State Police were reported to have vetted the bill and raised no concerns in the hearing.
Committee members praised the bipartisan work with homeland security committees on both sides of the legislature. Senator Kleinpeter moved to report the bill favorably; no objection was recorded in the hearing and the bill will proceed to the Senate floor for additional consideration.
Discussion versus formal action: testimony and panel questions constituted discussion; the committee subsequently voted to report the bill favorably. The bill’s final scope, operational safeguards and any required cooperation with federal aviation authorities or the Federal Aviation Administration will be refined during further consideration.
Supporters in the hearing record included State Police and the Louisiana Sheriffs Association; no registered opposition appeared in the committee minutes provided.
