SF1299 Summary: Regulation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Law Enforcement

• Law enforcement agencies require a search warrant to operate UAVs, with limited exceptions for emergencies, public area surveillance with court approval, counterterrorism operations, and disaster response.

• Emergency UAV use requires documentation on a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension form and submission of a sworn statement to district court within 48 hours; public area surveillance requires a court order limited to 48 hours with maximum 30-day extensions.

• UAVs must comply with Federal Aviation Administration requirements, cannot be equipped with weapons, cannot use facial recognition without explicit court authorization, and must collect data only on clearly defined targets to avoid incidental collection on other individuals or areas.

• Data collected on unintended targets must be deleted within 24 hours and cannot be used, copied, or disclosed except with written consent; information obtained in violation of these requirements is inadmissible as evidence.

• Law enforcement agencies must report annually to the public safety commissioner on UAV usage statistics, costs, and investigation outcomes; judges must report warrant and order information to state court administrator, with compiled reports due to legislative committees and made public by June 15 each year.