An Act To Protect the Privacy of Citizens frolll Domestic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Uses
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0025
Committee Amendment CA_A_H469 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 24, L.D. 25, Bill, "An Act To Protect 
the Privacy of Citizens frolll Domestic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Uses" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Regulate Domestic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Use' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 25 MRSA Pt. 12 is enacted to read: 
PART 12 
UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES 
CHAPTER 551 
REGULATION OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES 
§4501. Regulation of unmanned aerial vehicles 
1. Findings. The Legislature finds that evolving technology regarding unmanned 
aerial vehicles presents a potential economic driver for the State, an opportunity for 
research and development and a very real benefit for security, for search and rescue 
efforts and for disaster prevention and relief, as well as a tool for the investigation of 
serious crimes, but the technology also presents a potential threat to the privacy of 
citizens of this State if used by law enforcement in the conduct of criminal investigations 
without appropriate guidelines and supervision. 
2. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A. "Law enforcement agency" has the same meaning as in section 3701, subsection 
.L. 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " 
'0 liP 21, L.D, 75 
B. "Unmanncd aerial vehicle" 111erlils an aircraft operated without a physicalhw!l<1ll 
l:lresence within Qr on the aircraft that, in the l11anner in which the aircraft is used or 
the manner in which it is eguipped, is capable of performing audio or visual 
sl1rv(:i lIance. 
3. Acquisition of unmanned aerial vehicles. The acquisition of an unmanned aerial 
vehiclebY a law cnforcement agency must be approved by the governing body of the 
governmental unit overseeing the law enforcemcnt agency seeking to make sllch an 
acquisition or, in the case of a state agen~y, by the commissioner of that agcny-c 
4. 
Law enforcement agency operation of unmanned aerial vehicles. 
A law 
enforcement agency's operation of an unmanned aerial vehi~le must fully ~omply with all 
Federal Aviation Administration requirements and guidelines, including the acquisition of 
a certificate of authorization or waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration. 
Additionally, a law enforcement agency's use of an unmanned aerial vehicle is governed 
by the following provisions. 
A. 
A law enforcement agency may not use an unmanned aerial vehicle before 
adopting standards that meet, at a minimum, the standards set forth in slibsection 5. 
B. Except as permitted by a recognized exception to the requirement for a wan'ant 
under the Constitution of Maine or the United States Constitution, a law enforcement 
agency may not use an unmanned aerial vehicle for criminal investigations without a 
warrant. 
C. Notwithstanding paragraph A, a law enforcement agency may use an unmanned 
aerial vehicle [or the purpose of a search and rescue operation when the law 
enforcement agency determines that use of an unmanned aerial vehicle is necessary 
to alleviate an immediate danger to any person or for training exercises related to 
such uses, 
D. Notwithstanding paragraph A, a law enforcement agency may use an unmanned 
aerial vehicle for purposes other than the investigation of crime, including, but not 
limited to, aerial photography for the assessment of accidents, forest fires and other 
fire scenes, flood stages and stonh damage. 
E. 
In no case may a weaponized unmanned aerial vehicle be used or its use 
facilitated by a state or local law enforcement agency in this State. 
F. A law enforcement agency may not use an unmanned aerial vehicle to conduct 
surveillance of private citizens peacefully exercising their constitutional rights of free 
speech and assembly. 
G. Notwithstanding paragraph A, a law enforcement agency may use an unmanned 
aerial vehicle for an emergency use approved by the chief administrative officer of 
the agency or the Governor. 
5. Minimum standards for law enforcement. The Board of Trustees of the Maine 
Criminal Justice Academy, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, shall 
establish minimum standards for written policies and protocols for use of unmanned 
aerial vehicles by law enforcement agencies. The standards must include at a minimum: 
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A. Trcili~ertification requirements for a perso!LQflcrating an unma,nneclaerial 
vehicle; 
B. Requirements for prior authorization for the use of an unmanned aerial veb.icle by 
the chief administrative officer of the law enforcement agency seeking to use such a 
vehicle; 
~QRroval by the Attorney General or chief prosecuting attorney for the 
QpPlQpriate jurisdiction for the deployment of an unmanned aerial vehicle for 
crimi;lal investigati~n pUlJ2oses; 
D. Restrictions on the use of night vision technologYtJ:!.igh-powered Z00111 lense~ 
video analytics, facial recognition technology, thermal imaging and other such 
enhancement technology; 
E. Procedures to minimize the inadvertent audio or visual recording of private spaces 
of3rd parties who are not under investigation; 
F. 
Procedures for destroying any unnecessary audio or visual recordings without 
fwiher duplication or dissemination; 
G. 
Recomn1ended minimum altitudes and speeds at which an unmanned aerial 
vehicle may be flown in order to minimize the invasion of privacy of 3rd parties who 
are not under investigation; 
H. Methods to minimize the number of unmanned aerial vehicles deployed at any 
one time in anyone area or at anyone event; 
I. Procedures to avoid hazards to persons and property on land and in the air due to 
the oper~tion of unmanned aerial vehicles; 
. 
J. Methods for tracking and recording the flight of each unmanned aerial vehicle; 
K. 
Requirements for regular statistical reporting of all uses of unmanned aerial 
vehicles, including the Rurposes, the results and the duration of such uses, to the 
appropriate govemmental bodies; and 
L. Accountability of a law enforcement agency for any mistake in deployment or 
misuse of an unmanned aerial vehicle, including sanctions as provided in section 
2S03-C or section 2806-A, as applicable. 
6. Data collection. On or before July 1, 2016 and July 1st of each subsequent year, 
the Commission~r of Public Safety shall submit to the LegislatUre a report containing the 
number of instances in which an unmanned aerial vehicle has been deployed by any law 
enforcement agency in the State with summary descriptions of the number of 
deployments for investigative purposes, the general nature of those investigations and the 
number of search waJTa~ts sought and the number of search ",anants obtained for the 
deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill with various prOVISIOns regulating the use of 
unmanned aerial vehicles, also lrnown as drones, by law enforcement agencies. This 
amendment includes a legislative findings provision to recognize the potential benefits 
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and risks of the evolving technology of unmanneu aerial vehicles and narrows the 
definition of "unmanned aerial vehicle" to include only vehicles with the capability of 
performing audio or visual surveillance. 
It requires the governing body of the governmental unit overseeing a law 
enforcement agency to approve the acquisition or an unmanned aerial vehicle by the law 
enforcement agency. 
It requires that a la\v enforcement agency must comply with 
Federal Aviation Administration requirements when operating an unmanned aerial 
vehicle. 
Under this amendment, a law enforcement agency may operate an unmanned aerial 
vehicle only after it has adopted the standards established by the Board of Trustees of the 
Maine Criminal Justice Academy. The amendment provides exceptions for the use of an 
unmanned aerial vehicle in search and rescue operations when the law enforcement 
agency determines that the use is necessary to alleviate immecjiate danger to any person 
or for training exercises to prepare for such uses and for an emergency use approved by 
the chief administrative officer of the agency or the Governor. 
In addition, a law 
enforcement agency may use unmanned aerial vehicles for purposes other than the 
investigation of crimes, such as aerial photography for the assessment of accidents, forest 
fires and other fire scenes, fiood stages and storm damage. 
This amendment prohibits a law enforcement agency from using a weaponized 
unmanned aerial vehicle. 
Additionally, a law enforcement agency may not use an 
unmanned aerial vehicle for criminal investigations without a walTant, except as 
permitted by a recognized exception to the requirement for a warrant under the 
Constitution of Maine or the United States Constitution. The amendment also prohibits 
law enforcement use of an unmanned aerial vehicle to conduct surveillance of private 
citizens peacefully exercising their rights of free speech and assemb ly. 
This amendment requires the Board of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice 
Academy to establish minimum standards for written policies and protocols for use of 
unmanned aerial vehicles and the Commissioner of Public Safety to annually report to the 
Legislature. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: OG/171lS 
.:);;i/2C 
LD 25 
LR 247(02) 
An Act To Protect the Privacy of Citizens from Domestic Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Uses 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment '#' CfI ,/-f!pCf) 
Committee: judiciary 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Increases case-loads with no effect on fines or fees 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Additional costs to the Department of Public Safety associated with developing and submitting the annual repmi can 
be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR0247(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1