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Senate committee backs tougher penalties for drone use in felony crimes
Summary
The Senate Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts recommended passage of SB 282, which increases penalties when uncrewed aircraft are used to further the commission of a felony; prosecutors urged the change citing investigative and grading concerns under existing law.
The Senate Committee on Transportation and Culture and the Arts recommended passage of Senate Bill 282 Wednesday after hearing testimony that the measure would strengthen penalties for using uncrewed aircraft—commonly called drones—to facilitate felonies.
Daniel Hugo, representing the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu, told the committee the bill is part of the office’s legislative package and urged support. "Drones are going to be the new frontier in crime," Hugo said, adding that criminals have used drones to violate offender-registration requirements, to case burglaries and in at least some cases to plan murders.
Hugo said the bill aims to create a stronger deterrent and to address what he described as a sentencing-grading problem under the Modica rule: labeling the offense at the lowest grade can cause an upward‑graded felony to be reduced. He said the bill both strengthens the deterrent and fixes that grading concern.
Committee members asked how investigators would determine whether a drone was used in the furtherance of a felony. Hugo said investigative tools vary by county; some jurisdictions track the drone's flight paths, while other investigations have followed a drone back to a suspect's residence.
The committee voted to pass SB 282 unamended and to send the measure to the Judiciary Committee for further consideration.
No amendments to the bill text were listed during the meeting, and no formal motions to amend were recorded at the decision-making stage.
