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Senate committee hears public-safety warnings on SB 180 drone restrictions; witnesses urge funded replacement and alignment with federal action
Summary
Public-safety officials told the Senate Transportation Committee that Senate Bill 180, as written, would ground existing drone fleets, impose large unfunded replacement costs and create operational gaps; witnesses urged aligning state restrictions with recent federal FCC/NDAA actions and establishing funded replacement programs.
Columbus — At a Feb. 11 Senate Transportation Committee hearing, chiefs and public-safety representatives told lawmakers that Senate Bill 180’s restriction on foreign-made drones would, if implemented as written, ground existing emergency-response fleets and produce substantial unfunded costs for local agencies.
Scott Malacher, administrative officer with the Willoughby Fire Department and director of several Ohio public‑safety unmanned aircraft systems groups, testified that “Senate Bill 180 will prohibit the continued operation of existing public safety drone systems,” and said the law would “redistribute and amplify the risk” rather than reduce it. Malacher said public‑safety agencies use drones for search-and-rescue, hazmat, tactical operations and damage assessment, and that these systems are “mission critical” for saving lives.
Malacher pointed to recent federal action affecting drone approvals and said the Federal Communications Commission’s measures addressed future procurement without…
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