CS/HB 1027 - Unmanned Devices

• Defines "personal delivery device" as an electrically powered device under 80 pounds, with maximum 10 mph speed, operated on sidewalks and crosswalks for property transport; requires owners to maintain $100,000 general liability insurance.

• Authorizes counties and municipalities to permit personal delivery devices on sidewalks and crosswalks but prohibits their operation on Florida Shared-Use Nonmotorized Trail Network and Florida Greenways and Trails System.

• Vests authority to regulate unmanned aircraft systems in the state and prohibits political subdivisions from enacting ordinances on UAS design, operation, licensing, or pilot qualifications, with exceptions for local laws on nuisances, voyeurism, harassment, and property damage.

• Prohibits knowingly or willfully operating a drone over critical infrastructure facilities or allowing it to contact or come within interfering distance of such facilities; violations are second-degree misdemeanors, elevated to first-degree for repeat offenses; applies to electrical power, chemical manufacturing, mining, natural gas, LNG terminals, oil/gas pipelines, and wireless communications facilities.

• Prohibits possession or operation of unmanned aircraft with attached weapons, firearms, explosives, or destructive devices; exempts communications service providers using drones for facility maintenance and inspection; effective July 1, 2017.