By: Mario D. Mairena



On 13 March, the Utah State House of Representatives joined their
colleagues in the other chamber and passed SB 167, the Government Use of
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Act, by a vote of 67-5. SB 167 explicitly
prevents data obtained from a UAS from being admissible in court unless
the data was obtained pursuant to a warrant or some judicially permitted
exception to warrant requirements. Additionally, any information
obtained by a UAS may not be used as part of the affidavit required to
obtain a warrant. The measure was introduced in January by Sen. Howard
Stephenson now is headed to Gov. Gary Herbert for his signature.

 

In Oklahoma, HB 1556, which was introduced by Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, has
died in committee as the bill failed to garner support before the 13
March deadline. HB 1556 failed to make it out of committee and is now
considered to be dormant, despite a favorable amendment that was
introduced by Rep. Scott Briggs, which would have exempted a person or
entity from the bill’s provisions if the UAS was used for agricultural
purposes. The AUVSI Oklahoma chapter, specifically James Grimsley, was
instrumental in defeating HB 1556 as they tirelessly lobbied state
legislators and wrote several opeds in opposition to HB 1556.

 

In Georgia, HB 846, introduced by Rep. Harry Geisinger, and HB 848,
introduced by Stephen Allison, have fallen prey to legislative calendar
and failed to make it out of committee. The AUVSI Atlanta Chapter and
one of our active stakeholders, MAPPS, the Association of
Photogrammetry, Mapping, and Geospatial Firms were active in opposing HB
846 and HB 848.

 

Last week, AUVSI’s Senior Government Relations Manager Mario Mairena met
with South Carolina State Senate Judiciary Counsel and staff from state
Sen. Gregg Hembree’s office to discuss H 3514, which was approved 100-0
in the House. H 3514 was referred to the Senate Judiciary subcommittee
and to date, Sen. Hembree has not decided on whether or not to hold a
hearing on the bill. In the event a hearing is held, it is highly likely
that AUVSI will be asked to testify.