Committee approves bill restricting drone flights over ticketed events with narrow exceptions
Summary
The Senate Transportation Committee advanced HB 58 after amendments. The bill makes it a misdemeanor to operate an unmanned aircraft within a 400-foot buffer of a ticketed entertainment event unless exceptions apply; it passed committee by voice vote, 7-3.
The Senate Transportation Committee on Monday advanced House Bill 58, which prohibits operating an unmanned aircraft over ticketed entertainment events within a 400-foot buffer except in narrowly specified cases, and makes violations a misdemeanor.
Representative Richardson, the bill sponsor, said the measure responds to incidents where drones disrupted events and posed privacy and nuisance concerns. "This bill is in response to concerns regarding operation of unmanned aircraft over certain gatherings of people," Richardson told the committee, adding the bill is limited in scope to avoid conflict with Federal Aviation Administration oversight.
The bill defines a ticketed entertainment event and creates a 400-foot buffer in which a drone operator must have a listed exception to lawfully fly: consent from someone with legal authority over the event; FAA authorization; event employees or authorized contractors; or utilities carrying out official duties.
Representatives of the broadcast industry urged the committee to explicitly carve broadcasters out of the prohibition to avoid confusion for on-scene news coverage. Jeremy Collins of the Georgia Association of Broadcasters asked for an explicit exemption so reporters and stations covering newsworthy events would be able to operate under defined conditions. The committee debated but ultimately rejected a specific broadcaster carve-out; Collins said his group supported an amendment to clarify media access, but the amendment failed on a voice/hand-count vote.
A separate amendment struck a fireworks-related cross-reference to Title 25, chapter 10; the sponsor said that language belonged to a separate fireworks provision and agreed to remove it. After amendments, Senator Ginn moved due pass on the substitute; the committee recorded a voice vote of seven in favor and three opposed, and the bill passed the committee as amended.
HB 58 now moves to the Senate floor; the bill's exceptions include operators with FAA authorization and event hosts who grant consent.
