West Virginia State Senator Charles Trump introduced Senate Bill 9 (SB9) on 8th February, which would require law enforcement agencies to get warrants before carrying out surveillance or gathering evidence on targeted individuals or property. There are also limits on the retention of drone-gathered data included in SB9.
Senator Trump has said that the FAA had left the door open for state and local laws to more finely interpret its guidelines. This is in relation to the perception that this new state law conflicts with federal law, specifically Part 107.
SB9 also sets out rules for the use of drones on private property, insisting on strict penalties for publishing images taken during such activities without the permission of the subjects, and even defines how news organisations can use drones to cover certain events. The legislation applies to personal and commercial use of drones equally.
This legislation only refers to state and local drone usage, but it could create some conflict with federal programs too. A lot of the funding for drone surveillance at the state level comes from the federal government, while federal agencies use the collected information under a programme called the Information Sharing Environment (ISE).
West Virginia may end up losing funding from the ISE because of this bill, and may even run the risk of further litigation due to the conflict with Part 107. SB9 is now ready to move into the West Virginia House of Delegates.
References: Commercial UAV News
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