Senator Feinstein the Drone Federalism Act of 2017
Jonathan Rupprecht provides an excellent insight into what might lie ahead for American RPAS operators.
It will be important to keep an eye on what’s happening.
On May 25, Senator Feinstein introduced into the U.S. Senate the bill below. It is labelled Senate Bill 1272. It has been referred to the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
The bill modifies Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to require those model aircraft to have the permission of the land owner if they are within 200ft above ground level or 200ft above the structure, whichever is higher.
Any future rulemakings the FAA will do (like over people, night, or extended line of sight of operations) will have to define the preemptive effect of these laws. Additionally, the FAA “shall ensure that the authority of a State, local, or tribal government to 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 is not preempted.”
The FAA will enter into agreements with no more than 10 State, local, or tribal governments to provide technical assistance to these participants regarding regulating drones and these participants in the pilot program are going to be consulted with by NASA.
This bill does NOT affect preemption for manned aircraft.
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