AN ACT CONCERNING THE USE AND REGULATION OF DRONES.

This bill criminalizes the operation or use of unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly called drones) that are weaponized, except by law enforcement officers in certain circumstances while performing their duties. The bill makes operating a weaponized drone a class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, up to a $10,000 fine, or both; and violators must register with the deadly weapon offender registry (see BACKGROUND) (§§ 1 & 6).

1. establishes two degrees of reckless endangerment with a drone that are both punishable as misdemeanors (§§ 2 & 3);

2. restricts when law enforcement officers may operate drones and requires them to follow certain protocols regarding the information they receive from such use (§ 7);

3. excludes drones from the statutes governing aircraft, which include, among other things, aircraft registration, tax treatment, accident investigation, and compliance with the Uniform Aircraft Responsibility Act (§ 4);

4. specifies that, for purposes of voyeurism crimes, a victim is “not in plain view” when the view is not otherwise obtainable and is made possible by using a drone or technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities (see BACKGROUND) (§ 5);

5. requires the Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) to (a) develop a model policy for drone operation, including weaponized drones, and treatment of records related to drone operations and (b) report the completed policy to the Judiciary and Public Safety committees (§ 7); and

6. requires law enforcement agencies to adopt policies that meet or exceed the policies POST develops and fulfill certain annual reporting requirements (§ 7).

The bill defines an “unmanned aerial vehicle” as any power-driven contrivance used or designed for navigation or flight and operated remotely from the outside (“drones”).

It creates a new crime, making it a class C felony, unless otherwise provided by law, to operate or use any computer software or other technology, including a drone, to (1) release tear gas or a similar deleterious agent or (2) remotely control a deadly weapon, explosives, or an incendiary device. (Drones so equipped are commonly described as weaponized or armed.) People convicted of this crime must register with the deadly weapon offender registry (see BACKGROUND). Failure to register is a class D felony punishable by imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

The bill allows designated law enforcement officers to use drones while performing their duties, as described below (see LAW ENFORCEMENT USE OF DRONES).

1. in the first degree, which is a class A misdemeanor, when, with extreme indifference to human life, he or she recklessly collides the drone into an aircraft or motor vehicle, creating risk of serious physical injury to another person and

2. in the second degree, which is a class B misdemeanor, when he or she recklessly collides a drone into an aircraft or a motor vehicle, creating risk of physical injury to another person (see BACKGROUND).

For these purposes, motor vehicles include passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, construction equipment, tractors, and farm implements.

By law, a class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in prison, up to a $2,000 fine, or both. A class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to six months in prison, up to a $1,000 fine, or both.

The bill limits the circumstances in which law enforcement officers may operate drones, including weaponized drones, and retain the information collected by such operation. For these purposes, law enforcement officers include: (1) Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) -appointed special police officers for state property and (2) officers, employees, or agents of the State Police; municipal police departments; special campus police forces; and State Capitol Police. The bill specifies that these provisions do not apply to (1) government-owned or -leased property including public parks, sidewalks, or streets or (2) individuals on such property.

1. a judge or judge trial referee has issued a warrant authorizing the drone's use or

2. the individual, or property owner, who will be the subject of the information collected by the drone's operation has given advance written consent to the operation.

A person or private property is considered to be the subject of information collected by the drone's operation if the (1) information allows the person or property to be identified or (2) officer operating the drone acknowledges the person or property was the subject of the information.

Under the above circumstances, information collected through the drone's operation may be retained pursuant to the (1) warrant or (2) terms specified in the consent.

Drone Use in Exigent Circumstances or for Training or Crime Reconstruction

1. officer has probable cause to believe that a crime has been, is being, or will be committed and exigent circumstances make it unreasonable to obtain a warrant; or

2. drone is used (a) as part of law enforcement training activities conducted on state- or federal-owned or leased land that is not substantially populated or (b) to reconstruct or document a specific crime or accident scene (however, as noted above, the bill specifies that these provisions do not apply to government-owned or -leased property).

The bill requires the law enforcement agency that collected information in those circumstances to review the information within 90 days of its collection and then take certain actions depending on whether or not there is probable cause to believe an offense was committed.

If the reviewed information allows the person or property to be identified and there is no probable cause to believe that an offense was committed, the law enforcement agency must either (1) destroy the information within 48 hours of the review or (2) permanently modify the information so that the individual or property can no longer be identified. The law enforcement agency may retain the modified information for up to five years after it was collected and then must destroy it.

If the reviewed information allows the person or property to be identified and there is probable cause to believe that a crime was committed, the law enforcement agency may retain the information for up to five years after it was collected and then must destroy it. But if a warrant was issued in part on the information, it may be retained pursuant to the warrant.

The bill prohibits any information that was not destroyed, modified, or retained as required above to be admitted into evidence or otherwise considered by any state or local court, agency, body, or committee.

By January 1, 2018, the bill requires POST to develop and promulgate a model policy that provides guidelines on (1) drone operation by law enforcement officers, including weaponized drones, and (2) the destruction, modification, and retention of information collected by the operation. Upon completion, POST must report the policy to the Judiciary and Public Safety committees.

Under the bill, law enforcement agencies that possess a drone or authorize a law enforcement officer to operate a drone must adopt and maintain written policies that meet or exceed the policy POST develops (1) before taking possession of the drone or (2) within 30 days of an officer operating the drone. The policies must include a process for categorizing the types of drone operations.

By January 31^st each year, the bill also requires each law enforcement agency that operated a drone in the preceding calendar year to prepare a report that includes:

1. the number of times the agency operated the drone in the preceding year,

2. the type of operation as categorized by the agency's drone policy,

3. whether the drone was operated pursuant to a warrant, and

4. the number of times and type of information collected through the drone's operation due to a reasonable and articulable suspicion that a crime was being committed.

The law enforcement agency must make the report available on its website and the website of the municipality it serves.

By law, a “deadly weapon” is a weapon, whether loaded or unloaded, from which a shot may be discharged, or a switchblade knife, gravity knife, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, or metal knuckles (CGS § 53a-3).

By law, DESPP maintains a registry of people convicted, or found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, of an offense committed with a deadly weapon. A person must register if he or she (1) violated specified statutes or (2) committed any felony and the court finds that, at the time of the offense, the offender used a deadly weapon or was armed with and threatened to use, displayed, or represented by words or conduct that he or she possessed, a deadly weapon. Offenders must register for five years. The registry information is not a public record and is disclosable only to certain law enforcement personnel and other agencies (CGS § 54-280 et seq.).

1. knowingly photographs, films, videotapes, or records the victim's image maliciously or to satisfy his or her or another person's sexual desire and the victim (a) is not in plain view, (b) has a reasonable expectation of privacy under the circumstances, and (c) does not know of, or consent to, the conduct;

2. trespasses in a way that is not casual or cursory to arouse or satisfy his or her sexual desire and the victim (a) is inside a dwelling and not in plain view, (b) has a reasonable expectation of privacy under the circumstances, and (c) does not know of, or consent to, the conduct; or

3. knowingly photographs, films, videotapes, or otherwise records another person's genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or undergarments or stockings covering those areas to arouse or satisfy his or her or another person's sexual desire and the (a) genitals, pubic area, buttocks, undergarments, or stockings are not in plain view and (b) victim does not know of, or consent to, the conduct.

By law, voyeurism is either a class D or class C felony depending on the circumstances. A first offense is a class D felony, but it a class C felony if the (1) victim is under age 16 or (2) offender has a prior conviction of certain sexual crimes. Any subsequent voyeurism conviction is a class C felony. Additionally, a person convicted of the type of voyeurism that involves satisfying a person's sexual desire must, in certain circumstances, register as a sex offender for 10 years or life, depending on his or her prior convictions. Failure to register is a class D felony (CGS § 53a-189a).

By law, a person acts “recklessly” when he or she is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that disregarding it constitutes a gross deviation from a reasonable person's standard of conduct in the situation (CGS § 53a-3(13)).

By law, a “serious physical injury” is a physical injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes serious (1) disfigurement, (2) health impairment, or (3) loss or impairment of bodily organ function (CGS § 53a-3(4)).

SB 975 (File 415), reported favorably by the Planning and Development Committee, prohibits municipalities from regulating drones.