Gun, drone regulations questioned during Missouri legislative hearing
by Marie French, St. Louis Post Dispatch
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JEFFERSON CITY • Drones flown in Missouri would face new restrictions under a bill challenged by filmmakers, real estate agents and journalists during a hearing.
The bill would prohibit warrant-less surveillance with unmanned aircraft by law enforcement except what’s currently allowed and require anyone using a drone to get permission from a private property owner to take images of that property.
Bill sponsor Rep. Kenneth Wilson, R-Smithville, said the goal was not to restrict the development of drone technology or associated economic development possibilities. He said the applications in agriculture and law enforcement offer great opportunities but that there are risks to privacy.
“The possibilities are limitless and there’s also controversy, more than anyone could ever want or desire,” Wilson said. “I don’t believe there’s any greater threat to our personal privacy in this nation’s history than the use of a drone.”
Wilson said he’s preparing a committee substitute with several changes to include more exemptions and fine-tune the wording of the bill as he learns more about the issue.
Mark Gordon, Missouri Broadcasters Association president, said there needed to be some exemption for reporting. He said that broadcasters only wanted to use drones in ways that helicopters are sometimes used currently.
“Broadcasters play a very important role in our society,” Gordon said. “We want the capability of drones to inform and warn the public.”
Gordon said the bill, as written, would prevent television stations from showing images of congested traffic if it was near private property, footage of a natural disaster area gathered with drones if it included private homes and even sporting events if private property was adjacent.
Currently, Federal Aviation Administration rules prohibit drones for commercial use. Gordon said broadcasters are currently grounded even though some had purchased drones to use in newsgathering.
Sam Licklider, a lobbyist for the Missouri REALTORS, said he would like to see an amendment to exempt real estate professionals from the provisions. He said it could result in lawsuits against real estate companies, who are already using drones to take footage of homes or buildings to create marketing materials, if a drone got blown off course.
“You want to take some photographs of the property so you can say, this is what the house is like,” Licklider said.
John Davidson, a St. Louis attorney who said he has a business that uses drones, said the bill would inhibit new technology for drones to track their surroundings in order to plan for landings and avoid collisions. He said he understood the privacy concern but that the legislators should focus on the definition of stalking and other legal remedies rather than targeting drones.
Rep. Bill White said he thought instead of targeting the method of surveillance, legislation should be drafted to prohibit the specific activity rather than just one way of doing it.
Missouri Family Network president Kerry Messer said he supported the legislation to draw a line between the “use and abuse” of drones. He said regulations on new technologies should try to get ahead of the issue.
Rep. Tom Hurst, R-Meta, said the legislation was a step in the right direction. Rep. Brandon Ellington, D-Kansas City, and Rep. Joshua Peters, D-St. Louis, also expressed some support for the bill.
Similar legislation was passed by the House last session, but it included manned aircraft. Wilson, who didn’t sponsor the bill last year, said he wanted to keep things from getting out of hand this time.
EXEMPTIONS FROM FEDERAL REGULATIONS
The Downsizing Government committee also heard a bill titled the “Interstate Commerce Act,” which would nullify federal regulations of items created here that do not leave Missouri.
Bill sponsor Rep. Chrissy Sommer, R-St. Charles, said the bill would exempt goods produced in Missouri and remaining in the state from federal regulations. She said legislators would have to trust themselves to be able to regulate these goods.
Messer testified in support of the bill. He was also there on behalf of Missourians for Personal Safety, which supports gun-owners’ rights. Messer said the bill would have positive benefits for Missouri’s economy.
“We want to make sure goods and services are protected,” Messer said.
He said federal regulations based on the Interstate Commerce act, which are valid “depending on the specifics,” should not apply to goods produced in-state and marketed specifically to Missourians. Messer said this would protect firearms manufacturers in the state.
Davidson testified against the bill, questioning the validity of the law on constitutional grounds and arguing the law would prevent federal law enforcement to act on nuclear or biological weapons produced in the state.
White, R-Joplin, said the bill would only affect items regulated under the interstate commerce powers of the federal government, not law enforcement or homeland security.
Sommer said the bill was passed by the House General Laws committee last year.
The committee took no action on either bill.
(The drone regulation bill is HB 1204 and the interstate commerce bill is HB 1163.)
