Drone Act of 2023

To prevent the misuse of drones, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Drone Act of 2023 2. Findings Congress finds that— (1) drone technology has the potential to revolutionize commerce, military operations, law enforcement, and various industries, as well as recreation in general; (2) drone technology also presents a potential danger to public safety and national security; (3) drone technology is increasingly being used by drug trafficking and human trafficking organizations at the southern border— (A) to assist in smuggling into the United States high-value items; (B) for conducting reconnaissance; and (C) even as offensive weapons against competing criminal organizations; (4) drone technology has been used to deliver into Federal correctional centers contraband such as cell phones, wire cutters, screwdrivers, and hacksaws; (5) there were 875 drone sightings in restricted airport airspace in 2020, and 766 such sightings in the first half of 2021, including 36 such sightings in the vicinities of runways; and (6) while existing Federal law includes some criminal provisions relating to misuse of drones, those provisions are fragmentary in nature and therefore fail to restrain and deter the most serious drone-related crimes. 3. Drone offenses Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended— (1) in section 39B(a)— (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) by striking operation of, an aircraft operation of— (A) an aircraft ; (ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (iii) by adding at the end the following: (B) a vessel of the United States, or a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, as those terms are defined in section 70502 of title 46, carrying 1 or more occupants, in a manner that poses an imminent safety hazard to such occupants, shall be punished as provided in subsection (c); (C) a motor vehicle that is used, operated, or employed in interstate or foreign commerce and is carrying 1 or more occupants, in a manner that poses an imminent safety hazard to such occupants, shall be punished as provided in subsection (c); or (D) a vehicle used or designed for flight or navigation in space described in section 7(6), shall be punished as provided in subsection (c). ; and (B) in paragraph (2)— (i) by striking operation of, an aircraft operation of— (A) an aircraft ; (ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and (iii) by adding at the end the following: (B) a vessel of the United States, or a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, as those terms are defined in section 70502 of title 46, carrying 1 or more occupants, in a manner that poses an imminent safety hazard to such occupants, shall be punished as provided in subsection (c); (C) a motor vehicle that is used, operated, or employed in interstate or foreign commerce and is carrying 1 or more occupants, in a manner that poses an imminent safety hazard to such occupants, shall be punished as provided in subsection (c); or (D) a vehicle used or designed for flight or navigation in space described in section 7(6), shall be punished as provided in subsection (c). ; (2) in section 40A— (A) in the heading, by striking Operation of unauthorized unmanned aircraft over wildfires Interference by unauthorized unmanned aircraft with law enforcement, emergency response, and military activities (B) in subsection (a)— (i) by striking operates an unmanned aircraft and knowingly or recklessly operates an unmanned aircraft and— (1) knowingly or recklessly ; (ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting ; or (iii) by adding at the end the following: (2) knowingly or recklessly interferes with a law enforcement, emergency response, or military operation or activity of a unit or agency of the United States Government or of a State, tribal, or local government (other than a wildfire suppression or law enforcement or emergency response efforts related to a wildfire suppression) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both. ; (3) by inserting after section 40A the following: 40B. Misuse of unmanned aircraft (a) Definitions In this section— (1) the term aircraft (A) invented, used, or designed to navigate, fly, or travel in the air; or (B) used or intended to be used for flight in the air; (2) the term airport (3) the term contraband (4) the term dangerous weapon (5) the term explosive explosive materials (6) the term firearm (7) the term Federal law (8) the term personnel of the United States (9) the terms prison prohibited object (10) the term restricted electromagnetic weapon (A) can generate or emit electromagnetic radiation or fields that are capable of jamming, disrupting, degrading, damaging, or interfering with the operation of any technological or electronic asset, system, network, or infrastructure, or any component or subcomponent thereof; and (B) is classified as a restricted electromagnetic weapon by the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense; (11) the term serious bodily injury (12) the term United States corporation or legal entity (13) the term unmanned aircraft (14) the term vessel (15) the term weapon of mass destruction (b) Offenses (1) Weaponization It shall be unlawful, in a circumstance described in subsection (c), to knowingly— (A) equip or arm an unmanned aircraft with a firearm, explosive, dangerous weapon, restricted electromagnetic weapon, or weapon of mass destruction; (B) possess, receive, transfer, operate, or produce an unmanned aircraft that is equipped or armed with a firearm, explosive, dangerous weapon, restricted electromagnetic weapon, or weapon of mass destruction; (C) discharge or deploy a firearm, explosive, dangerous weapon, restricted electromagnetic weapon, or weapon of mass destruction using an unmanned aircraft; or (D) use an unmanned aircraft to cause— (i) serious bodily injury or death to a person; or (ii) damage to— (I) property in an amount that exceeds $5,000; or (II) critical infrastructure (as defined in section 1016 of the USA PATRIOT Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5195c (2) Operation of drone to commit felony It shall be unlawful to knowingly operate an unmanned aircraft in furtherance of the commission of a crime punishable by death or imprisonment of more than 1 year under a law of the United States or a State, if Federal law requires that the aircraft be registered and the aircraft is not registered. (3) Impairment of identification or lighting It shall be unlawful to, in violation of Federal law, knowingly and willfully— (A) remove, obliterate, tamper with, or alter the identification number of the unmanned aircraft; (B) disable or fail to effect any required identification transmission or signaling of the unmanned aircraft; or (C) disable or obscure any required anti-collision lighting of the unmanned aircraft or fail to have or illuminate such lighting as required. (4) Intrusion on protected spaces It shall be unlawful for any person, knowing that the conduct of the person is unlawful, to— (A) operate an unmanned aircraft in any airspace, or cause the takeoff or landing of an unmanned aircraft in any place, in violation of Federal law, including all applicable rules, regulations, and orders of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Homeland Security; or (B) operate an unmanned aircraft across a border of the United States or its territories or possessions without complying with the requirements of Federal law, including all applicable rules, regulations, and orders of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. (5) Transportation of contraband It shall be unlawful to knowingly use an unmanned aircraft to— (A) transport contraband; or (B) introduce a prohibited object into a prison. (c) Circumstances The circumstances described in this subsection are that the offense— (1) is an offense under paragraph (2), (3), (4), or (5) of subsection (b); (2) involves an unmanned aircraft, firearm, explosive, dangerous weapon, restricted electromagnetic weapon, weapon of mass destruction, or ammunition that has moved at any time in interstate or foreign commerce; (3) occurs in or affects interstate or foreign commerce; (4) involves the movement of any person or thing in, or use of any means or instrumentality of, interstate or foreign commerce; (5) involves— (A) any use of the electromagnetic spectrum that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission or the National Telecommunications and Information Administration; or (B) any aircraft or airspace use that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Aviation Administration; (6) is committed, whether within or outside of the United States, against— (A) the United States or any department, agency, property, activity, or personnel of the United States; or (B) an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States (as defined in section 46501 of title 49); (7) is committed outside of the United States against any United States national, United States corporation or legal entity, aircraft registered under United States law, or vessel of the United States or vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States (as those terms are defined in section 70502 of title 46); or (8) is committed in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. (d) Penalties Any person who violates subsection (b)— (1) in the case of a violation of paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of that subsection, shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, fined under this title, or both; (2) in the case of a violation of paragraph (1)(A), (1)(B), (1)(C), or (5) of that subsection, shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 years, fined under this title, or both; (3) subject to paragraph (4) of this subsection, in the case of a violation of paragraph (1)(D) of that subsection, shall be imprisoned for not more than 20 years, fined under this title, or both; and (4) in the case of a violation of any paragraph of that subsection, if death results, shall be sentenced to death or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, fined under this title, or both. (e) Inchoate offenses (1) In general Whoever threatens, attempts, or conspires to commit an offense under subsection (b) shall be subject to the same punishment under subsection (d) as for a completed offense. (2) Federal jurisdiction In the case of a threat, attempt, or conspiracy to commit an offense under subsection (b), the requirement that a circumstance described in subsection (c) exists shall be satisfied if any of the circumstances described in that subsection would have existed had the offense been carried out. (f) Exceptions (1) Government-authorized conduct Subsection (b) shall not apply to conduct by or under the authority of, authorized by, or pursuant to a contract with, the United States or a State, Tribal, or local government, or any department or agency of the United States or a State, Tribal, or local government. (2) Weaponization for authorized or licensed activities Subsection (b)(1), as that subsection applies to firearms, explosives, and other dangerous weapons, shall not apply to— (A) conduct related to avalanche mitigation; or (B) any other conduct in which the use of the firearm, explosive, or dangerous weapon is licensed or otherwise permitted for the mitigation of dangers associated with hazardous environments. (3) Authorized property damage Subsection (b)(1)(D) shall not apply to conduct consisting of injury to property, if engaged in by or with the authorization or consent of the owner of the property, including in any consensual competition in which unmanned aircraft are deployed against each other. ; (4) in the chapter analysis for chapter 2, by striking the item relating to section 40A and inserting the following: 40A. Interference by unauthorized unmanned aircraft with law enforcement, emergency response, and military activities. 40B. Misuse of unmanned aircraft. ; (5) in section 982(a)(6)(A), by inserting 39B (relating to unsafe operation of unmanned aircraft), 40A (relating to interference by unauthorized unmanned aircraft with law enforcement, emergency response, and military activities), 40B (relating to misuse of unmanned aircraft), 555 (6) in section 2332b(g)(5)(B), by inserting 40B(b)(1) (relating to weaponization of unmanned aircraft), 81 (7) in section 2516(1)(c), by inserting section 39B (relating to unsafe operation of unmanned aircraft), section 40A (relating to interference by unauthorized unmanned aircraft with law enforcement, emergency response, and military activities), section 40B (relating to misuse of unmanned aircraft), section 43

Summary: Drone Act of 2023 This bill creates a federal statutory framework to criminalize various conduct involving the misuse of drones. Among its provisions, the bill generally prohibits the operation of a drone that poses an imminent safety hazard to vessels or motor vehicles; weaponization of a drone (e.g., attaching a firearm or explosive); and operation of a drone that interferes with a law enforcement, emergency response, or military operation or activity of the federal government or of a state, local, or tribal government.