II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1272 

To preserve State, local, and tribal authorities and private property rights 

with respect to unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2017 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. LEE, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. COTTON) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To preserve State, local, and tribal authorities and private 

property rights with respect to unmanned aircraft systems, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drone Federalism Act 

5 of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PRESERVATION OF STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL AU2 THORITIES WITH RESPECT TO UNMANNED 

3 AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS. 

4 (a) SCOPE OF PREEMPTION FOR CIVIL UNMANNED

5 AIRCRAFT REGULATIONS.—In prescribing regulations or 

6 standards related to civil unmanned aircraft systems, the 

7 Administrator shall— 

8 (1) define the scope of the preemptive effect of 

9 such regulations or standards pursuant to section 

10 40103 or 41713 of title 49, United States Code, 

11 which shall be limited to the extent necessary to en12 sure the safety and efficiency of the national air13 space system for interstate commerce; and 

14 (2) preserve, to the greatest extent practicable, 

15 legitimate interests of State, local, and tribal govern16 ments, including— 

17 (A) protecting public safety; 

18 (B) protecting personal privacy; 

19 (C) protecting property rights; 

20 (D) managing land use; and 

21 (E) restricting nuisances and noise pollu22 tion. 

23 (b) RESERVED POWERS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In prescribing regulations or 

25 standards related to civil unmanned aircraft sys26 tems, the Administrator shall ensure that the auVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:54 Jun 02, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1272.IS S1272

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1 thority of a State, local, or tribal government to 

2 issue reasonable restrictions on the time, manner, 

3 and place of operation of a civil unmanned aircraft 

4 system that is operated below 200 feet above ground 

5 level or within 200 feet of a structure is not pre6 empted. 

7 (2) REASONABLE RESTRICTIONS.—For pur8 poses of paragraph (1), reasonable restrictions on 

9 the time, manner, and place of operation of a civil 

10 unmanned aircraft system include the following: 

11 (A) Limitations on speed. 

12 (B) Prohibitions or limitations on oper13 ations in the vicinity of schools, parks, road14 ways, bridges, or other public or private prop15 erty. 

16 (C) Restrictions on operations at certain 

17 times of the day or week or on specific occa18 sions such as during parades or sporting events. 

19 (D) Prohibitions on operations while the 

20 operator is under the influence of drugs or alco21 hol. 

22 (E) Prohibitions on careless or reckless op23 erations. 


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1 (F) Other prohibitions that protect public 

2 safety, personal privacy, or property rights, or 

3 that manage land use or restrict noise pollution. 

4 SEC. 3. PRESERVATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS. 

5 (a) AFFIRMATION OF APPLICABILITY OF CONSTITU6 TIONAL TAKINGS CLAUSE TO FEDERAL AVIATION ADMIN7 ISTRATION REGULATIONS.—In prescribing regulations or 

8 standards related to civil unmanned aircraft systems, the 

9 Administrator shall not authorize the operation of a civil 

10 unmanned aircraft in the immediate reaches of the air11 space above property without permission of the property 

12 owner. 

13 (b) AFFIRMATION OF APPLICABILITY OF CONSTITU14 TIONAL TAKINGS CLAUSE ABSENT FEDERAL AVIATION

15 ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS.—Section 336(a) of the 

16 FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 

17 112–95; 49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

19 inserting a semicolon; 

20 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

21 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(6) when flown in the immediate reaches of 

24 the airspace above property (as defined in section 


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1 3(c) of the Drone Federalism Act of 2017), the op2 erator has the permission of the property owner.’’. 

3 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘imme4 diate reaches of the airspace above property’’, with respect 

5 to the operation of a civil unmanned aircraft system, in6 cludes— 

7 (1) any area within 200 feet above the ground 

8 level of the property; 

9 (2) any area within 200 feet above any struc10 ture on the property; and 

11 (3) any area where operation of the aircraft 

12 system could interfere with the enjoyment or use of 

13 the property. 

14 SEC. 4. PILOT PROGRAM ON FEDERAL PARTNERSHIPS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 

17 enter into agreements with not more than 10 State, local, 

18 or tribal governments to establish pilot programs under 

19 which— 

20 (1) the Administrator shall provide technical as21 sistance to such governments in regulating the oper22 ation of civil unmanned aircraft systems, including 

23 through the use of the latest available technologies; 

24 and 


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1 (2) the Administrator and such governments 

2 shall coordinate efforts with respect to the enforce3 ment of regulations relating to the operation of civil 

4 unmanned aircraft systems. 

5 (b) SELECTION.—In selecting among State, local, 

6 and tribal governments for purposes of establishing pilot 

7 programs under subsection (a), the Administrator shall 

8 seek to enter into agreements with— 

9 (1) governments that vary in their size and in10 tended approach to regulation of civil unmanned air11 craft systems; and 

12 (2) not less than one State government, not less 

13 than one county government, not less than one city 

14 government, and not less than one tribal govern15 ment. 

16 (c) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS TRAFFIC MAN17 AGEMENT SYSTEM.—The Administrator shall coordinate 

18 with Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 

19 Administration to ensure that participants in pilot pro20 grams established under subsection (a) are consulted in 

21 the development of the unmanned aircraft systems traffic 

22 management system under subsection (a) section 2208 of 

23 the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 

24 (Public Law 114–190; 49 U.S.C. 40101 note) and the 

25 pilot program under subsection (b) of that section. 


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1 (d) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 2 years 

2 after establishing the pilot programs required by sub3 section (a), the Administrator shall submit to Congress, 

4 and make available to the public, a report identifying best 

5 practices for State, local, and tribal governments to regu6 late the operation of civil unmanned aircraft systems and 

7 to collaborate with the Federal Aviation Administration 

8 with respect to the regulation of such systems. 

9 SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

10 Nothing in this Act shall be construed— 

11 (1) to diminish or expand the preemptive effect 

12 of the authority of the Federal Aviation Administra13 tion with respect to manned aviation; or 

14 (2) to affect the civil or criminal jurisdiction 

15 of— 

16 (A) any Indian tribe relative to any State 

17 or local government; or 

18 (B) any State or local government relative 

19 to any Indian tribe. 

20 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis23 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 

24 Aviation Administration. 


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1 (2) CIVIL.—The term ‘‘civil’’, with respect to an 

2 unmanned aircraft system, means that the un3 manned aircraft is not a public aircraft (as defined 

4 in section 40102 of title 49, United States Code). 

5 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

6 has the meaning given that term in section 4 of the 

7 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

8 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

9 (4) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘local’’, 

10 with respect to a government, means the government 

11 of a subdivision of a State. 

12 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

13 the several States, the District of Columbia, and the 

14 territories and possessions of the United States. 

15 (6) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘tribal’’, 

16 with respect to a government, means the governing 

17 body of an Indian tribe. 

18 (7) UNMANNED AIRCRAFT; UNMANNED AIR19 CRAFT SYSTEM.—The terms ‘‘unmanned aircraft’’ 

20 and ‘‘unmanned aircraft system’’ have the meanings 

21 given those terms in section 331 of the FAA Mod22 ernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Public Law 

23 112–95; 49 U.S.C. 40101 note). 

Æ 


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