NAAA eNewsletter - 06/15/2017

NAAA, in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) last week, supported legislative efforts to provide local governments authority over drone use, as well as legislation requiring technological safeguards for drones.

Feinstein is the author of “The Drone Federalism Act of 2017” (S.1272), which was introduced last month. S.1272 would create a process by which the federal government would work with state and local governments to manage the use of both recreational and commercial drones and issue reasonable restrictions on the time, manner and place of operation of a civil unmanned aircraft system that is operated below 200 feet above ground level or within 200 feet of a structure. The bill defines “reasonable restrictions” to include: limits on speed; prohibitions on flight near any public or private property; restrictions on operations during certain times of day or week, or special occasions; and other “prohibitions that protect public safety, personal privacy, or property rights, or that manage land use or restrict noise pollution.”

A week before the bill was introduced, a federal appeals court ruled that the FAA lacks the authority to regulate drone use by hobbyists. The court ruling means that hobbyists no longer have to register their drones in a national database. The FAA previously required registration before the court ruling.

According to the FAA, around four million drones are expected to be in use by 2020. The FAA has already registered more than 750,000 drone operators and 200,000 manned aircraft operators in the United States. Andrew Moore, NAAA’s executive director, wrote in the letter to Sen. Feinstein that: “Allowing state, local and tribal governments the authority to enact reasonable restrictions on UAS, overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), per S. 1272, is needed. The FAA will not be able to enforce UAS operations on its own. The industry is growing too fast for this to be possible.”

The National Governors Association and the National Association of State Aviation Officials also supports the legislation. U.S. Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) are co-sponsors.

NAAA also is supportive of draft legislation that is being considered for introduction by Sen. Feinstein that would allow the FAA to ensure drones are equipped with geographic data sources that convey flight restrictions, collision avoidance systems, airspace restriction systems and systems that establish drone conspicuity (lights, markings). It would also require that both commercial and recreational drones comply, fixing a dangerous loophole that exists in federal aviation statutes exempting recreational drones from certain safety measures.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Subcommittee on Aviation is planning to release a draft FAA reauthorization bill this month. The current authorization is set to expire Sept. 30. NAAA will continue to brief members on these issues as the legislative process progresses.