NH committee hears bill to limit drone surveillance, agencies seek clarifications
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Summary
A bill to create statutory privacy protections against drone surveillance drew support from residents and concern from law- enforcement and industry witnesses who urged clearer exceptions for public-safety, infrastructure and business uses.
A New Hampshire Senate committee heard testimony on a bill intended to shield residents from unwanted drone surveillance, with witnesses and members agreeing on the goal but debating the exceptions and technical scope.
Steve Dupree, a Concord resident who testified in support, told the committee the state lacks clear statutory protection against remote observation by drones and similar devices. “The FAA governs airspace safety and navigation,” Dupree said, “but the FAA explicitly does not regulate privacy,” arguing that courts expect states to fill that gap. Dupree said he modeled the proposal on laws in other states, including Florida’s Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act, and seeks to create a “reasonable expectation of privacy” on private property.
Committee members pressed Dupree on exemptions the bill would allow for insurers, utilities, contractors and news organizations. “I would be open to amendments,” Dupree said, while urging that the law preserve routine, safety-focused uses such as insurance roof inspections and utility maintenance.
Law-enforcement witnesses urged clearer language to avoid disrupting public-safety work. Lieutenant Chris Sworn of the New Hampshire State Police said the Department of Safety “is opposed to it in its version that it is written as of right now” because the bill’s exceptions are unclear and could require warrants for routine uses such as crash-mapping and accident reconstruction. Tricia Lambert, administrator for the Bureau of Aeronautics at the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, cautioned that the FAA has exclusive authority over airspace and that state law cannot regulate aircraft or airspace; she suggested the bill focus on privacy harms and takeoff/launch restrictions rather than airspace rules.
Industry witnesses asked for explicit carve-outs. Maura Weston of the New England Connectivity and Telecommunications Association told the committee that broadband and cable companies use drones to inspect fiber and poles after storms and that a notification requirement could be burdensome. Cam Lapine, representing insurance associations, asked for a clear exemption for insurers conducting legitimate assessments and supported a draft amendment already proposed by a senator.
Members probed additional questions about how the bill would treat wildlife photography, large properties, and whether an activity observable from public ground-level vantage points should remain permissible. Dupree said the standard he used tracks other states’ laws: if an activity is observable from lawful ground-level vantage points, there is less expectation of privacy; if a drone is hovering over a private, secluded yard, a higher privacy protection should apply.
The committee did not take a vote on the measure. Members and the sponsor agreed to work on clarifying amendments that spell out law-enforcement, emergency-response, news-media and infrastructure exceptions while preserving the bill’s privacy baseline.
