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House Judiciary hears wide-ranging public testimony opposing and supporting expanded police drone use in SB 238A
Summary
SB 238A would broaden when law enforcement may deploy unmanned aircraft systems; opponents warned of surveillance risks and civil-rights harms, while city and public-safety representatives said the bill clarifies use for emergencies, search-and-rescue and crash assessment.
The House Committee on Judiciary reopened a public hearing on Senate Bill 238A, a measure that would expand when Oregon law enforcement may operate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), hearing extended testimony both opposing and supporting the bill.
Justice Raji, director of the Reimagine Oregon project at the Urban League of Portland, told the committee the expansion was made “without much community engagement” and urged lawmakers not to move the bill forward: “those who may be quite sensitive to the idea that an unmanned vehicle could land or show up somewhere in your neighborhood… would have concerns that evidence from that communication could be then taken and used to charge you with a crime.”
Multiple community and civil‑liberties groups opposed SB 238A as written. Jay Maci, organizing director for United Oregon, argued the bill “will expand unchecked surveillance in neighborhoods already overburdened by over policing,” and warned drones “equipped with zoom lenses, night vision, or AI analytics can peer into…
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