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Arlington PD embraces drones, gets FAA clearance - what limits will the Lege impose?

The Arlington PD's recent FAA licensure of a pair of unmanned drones coupled with Rep. Lance Gooden's HB 912 regulating drone photography coming up on the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee agenda on Tuesday has resulted in a spate of recent news coverage on the topic of unmanned surveillance drones, see:
Notably the makers of police drones are openly worried that the first person to shoot one down will be considered a "hero" and, said US News and World Report, "According to a Reason/Rupe poll conducted last month, nearly half of Americans believe that they have the 'right to destroy' a drone that flies too close to their house. Nearly two thirds of Americans said they'd be worried about local police drones invading their privacy." The over-the-top public reaction to drones makes me think the time is ripe for legislation to regulate them. But the bill as filed was too sweeping, potentially impacting even university researchers, hobbyists, and other legitimate users.

Since the FAA won't be licensing private drones until September 2015, I'd prefer to see the focus for now remain on a warrant requirement for police surveillance and curtailing their regulatory use by government. By 2015, the issues surrounding private use of drones will be in sharper focus, the issue will be more ripe for legislation, and there is still time to enact it before the FAA approves private use use of drones in their airspace the following September. Today, in 2013, the goal should be to limit their use by state and local government which, as in Arlington, is the main consumer at the moment of privacy invading drone technology. Here's a picture via NBC of the Montgomery County Sheriff's SWAT team posing with their drone:


Last year the Montgomery Sheriff's drone program made headlines when they crashed their drone into a SWAT truck during a practice run.
The Arlington PD's recent FAA licensure of a pair of unmanned drones coupled with Rep. Lance Gooden's HB 912 regulating drone photography coming up on the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee agenda on Tuesday has resulted in a spate of recent news coverage on the topic of unmanned surveillance drones, see:
Notably the makers of police drones are openly worried that the first person to shoot one down will be considered a "hero" and, said US News and World Report, "According to a Reason/Rupe poll conducted last month, nearly half of Americans believe that they have the 'right to destroy' a drone that flies too close to their house. Nearly two thirds of Americans said they'd be worried about local police drones invading their privacy." The over-the-top public reaction to drones makes me think the time is ripe for legislation to regulate them. But the bill as filed was too sweeping, potentially impacting even university researchers, hobbyists, and other legitimate users.

Since the FAA won't be licensing private drones until September 2015, I'd prefer to see the focus for now remain on a warrant requirement for police surveillance and curtailing their regulatory use by government. By 2015, the issues surrounding private use of drones will be in sharper focus, the issue will be more ripe for legislation, and there is still time to enact it before the FAA approves private use use of drones in their airspace the following September. Today, in 2013, the goal should be to limit their use by state and local government which, as in Arlington, is the main consumer at the moment of privacy invading drone technology. Here's a picture via NBC of the Montgomery County Sheriff's SWAT team posing with their drone:


Last year the Montgomery Sheriff's drone program made headlines when they crashed their drone into a SWAT truck during a practice run.
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