I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5879 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to permit small, unmanned aircraft 
pilot research for public safety, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 3, 2023 
Mr. NEHLS (for himself, Mr. HUNT, Mr. FINSTAD, Mr. GUEST, Mr. DAVIS 
of North Carolina, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, and Mr. STAUBER) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, 
Space, and Technology 
A BILL 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to permit small, 
unmanned aircraft pilot research for public safety, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drone Research and 
Innovation for Law Enforcement Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT PILOT RESEARCH 
FOR PUBLIC SAFETY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 448 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 44811. Small unmanned aircraft pilot research for 
public safety 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION REGARDING WEAPONS.—The pro-
hibition regarding unmanned aircraft armed with dan-
gerous weapons under section 363 of the FAA Reauthor-
ization Act of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 44802 note) is reaffirmed. 
‘‘(b) PILOT RESEARCH PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 months 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad-
ministrator of the Federal Aviation Administration 
shall initiate a pilot research program to study the 
potential use of non-lethal de-escalation unmanned 
aircraft by law enforcement agencies. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The study required under 
subsection (b) shall address— 
‘‘(A) the process of assessing and vali-
dating conducted energy devices or other non- 
lethal de-escalation equipment that may be at-
tached to unmanned aircraft; 
‘‘(B) training protocols for law enforce-
ment and agents of the Administration; and 
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‘‘(C) operational and safety protocols for 
operators of non-lethal de-escalation unmanned 
aircraft and agencies directly overseeing the op-
eration of such unmanned aircraft. 
‘‘(3) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Administrator shall 
enter into interagency agreements with the Depart-
ments of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, 
and State large metropolitan and rural law enforce-
ment agencies with regard to the pilot research pro-
gram established under this subsection. The Admin-
istrator shall designate the Center of Excellence for 
Unmanned Aerial Systems designated under section 
44814, in collaboration with Federal, State, and 
large metropolitan law enforcement as well as rural 
law enforcement training facilities, as the location 
for such program. 
‘‘(4) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator shall 
solicit input from, and coordinate with, relevant 
stakeholders as appropriate in carrying out the pilot 
research program established under this subsection. 
‘‘(5) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 
shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
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Transportation a report on the results of the pilot 
research program that includes a plan outlining a 
proposed process through which a law enforcement 
applicant to such program may seek permission from 
the Administrator to operate non-lethal de-escalation 
unmanned aircraft. 
‘‘(c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 90 days after 
submitting the report set required under subsection (b)(5), 
the Administrator shall initiate a rulemaking to create a 
process through which the Administrator may provide ap-
proval to operate non-lethal de-escalation unmanned air-
craft. 
‘‘(d) MANUFACTURING REQUIREMENT.—Any non-le-
thal de-escalation unmanned aircraft used under the pilot 
research program may be manufactured in the United 
States, as defined by the Federal Trade Commission under 
part 323 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS OF NON-LETHAL DE-ESCALATION 
UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) NON-LETHAL DE-ESCALATION UNMANNED 
AIRCRAFT.—The term ‘non-lethal de-escalation un- 
manned aircraft’ means an unmanned aircraft 
equipped with 1 or more non-lethal weapons or de-
vices that is— 
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‘‘(A) used by law enforcement personnel in 
scenarios that present significant risk to human 
life, including the life of law enforcement per-
sonnel, captives, uninvolved individuals, the 
public, or a suspected criminal; and 
‘‘(B) in which the suspected criminal is in 
an position through which he or she could po-
tentially escalate the situation and expose 
human life to a high level of risk. 
‘‘(2) NON-LETHAL WEAPON.—The term ‘non-le-
thal weapon’ has the meaning given the term in used 
in DOD Directive Number 300.03E, issued on Au-
gust 31, 2018, by the Department of Defense.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap-
ter 448 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘ ‘44811. Small unmanned aircraft pilot research for public safety.’’. 
Æ 
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