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House approves bill clarifying government use of drones; exchange raises privacy, enforcement questions
Summary
House passed second substitute HB 296 to allow testing areas and limited warrant exceptions for government unmanned aerial vehicles, 63-10. Floor exchanges highlighted privacy concerns and an exchange in which one member asked about shooting down a drone drew a ruling that part of the question was out of order.
The Utah House on March 3 passed second substitute HB 296, which clarifies government use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and establishes the option of geographically defined testing sites with no occupied structures.
Sponsor Representative Carlton Bridal described the bill as a follow-up to last year's UAV law, saying counties developing test sites encountered reluctance from law-enforcement agencies because prior language could have required search warrants for routine testing and training. "We identified a testing site with geographical boundaries and no occupied structures," Bridal said, and the substitute preserves privacy safeguards worked out with Libertas and the ACLU.
Representative Mike Noel questioned how the bill protects homeowners when a law enforcement UAV flies over private property and asked, "Would you be able to take out your 12-gauge shotgun and blow it out of the sky?" Bridal responded, "You'd have to take that up with the law enforcement agency who was flying it," and when pressed further the sponsor said he had "no objection"; the chair later ruled part of that exchange out of order. Other members raised air-rights and jurisdictional issues.
The bill's sponsor emphasized the measure does not change existing law on reasonable expectation of privacy and is intended to allow practical testing and search uses (for example, searching for missing persons without a warrant in some circumstances). The House passed the bill 63 yes, 10 no; it will be transmitted to the Senate.
