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Makes it a felony to use a drone to intentionally photograph or loiter over or near a critical facility such as a dam, prison, railroad or power line

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How Arizona lawmakers are wooing Amazon, Google with drone legislation

Alia Beard Rau, The Republic | azcentral.com 1:43 p.m. MST April 22, 2016

Arizona is on track to join a handful of states hoping to woo companies like Amazon and Google by making it easier for them to operate commercial drones.

State lawmakers, law enforcement, city officials and business leaders spent much of this session crafting a bill that sets rules for drone operations -- and prevents cities from adopting more strict regulations.

While city leaders still have reservations, most other affected parties support the final version. The legislation needs a final Senate vote before advancing to the governor.

"The bill is flying high," said bill sponsor Sen. John Kavanagh R-Fountain Hills, laughing. "The drone bill is attempting to thread the needle between not stopping commercial enterprises from providing very fast and very inexpensive drone deliveries to our residents while at the same time protecting the privacy of residents from unreasonable breaches and harassment."

Senate Bill 1449:

Makes it a misdemeanor to operate a drone in violation of federal law or if the operation interferes with police, firefighters or any emergency operations. This includes the federal law forbidding drones within 5 miles of an airport without prior clearance.

Makes it a felony to use a drone to intentionally photograph or loiter over or near a critical facility such as a dam, prison, railroad or power line with the intent to commit another crime.

Prohibits cities, towns and counties from passing any drone regulations; and deems void any ordinances that have already been passed. Kavanagh said businesses asked him to run the bill, primarily out of concern that cities were beginning to pass rules of their own. Paradise Valley last year adopted an ordinance banning individuals from flying drones over public or private property without permission. Several other cities, including Phoenix, were considering ordinances.

Businesses "were concerned they would not be able to have drone deliveries if we had 91 conflicting and illegal ordinances," Kavanagh said.

The bill had included language making it a crime to intentionally photograph, record or collect information about another person's property without prior written consent, but Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, a drone pilot himself, successfully proposed removing it.

Farnsworth said that portion of the bill would have created an entirely new privacy right, that he said could have broad implications. "If police are chasing somebody, to go into your backyard or to even surveil your backyard, do they then have to get a warrant?" he asked during a recent committee hearing on the bill.

"There is no expectation of privacy when you are outside," Farnsworth said. "I confirmed that with two county attorneys. The courts have held that for a very long time."

Dale Wiebusch, legislative associate with the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, said the bill is an effort to pre-empt cities from addressing the issue as they best see fit. He said cities did get some of their ideas into amended versions of the bill, but can't officially support it at this point.

“If you have 91 different laws with different heights or restrictions, that would be a huge hindrance to any commercial user.” Attorney Seth Schuknecht

"At the end of the day, it's still pre-emption," he said. "... We wanted to ensure that we had some regulatory authority there."

Attorney Seth Schuknecht, an aviation expert whose law firm Fennemore Craig lobbies for companies interested in using drones, said the bill opens the doors for the commercial use of drones in Arizona.

"It appears the state Legislature is trying to make Arizona a friendly state for the commercial use of" drones, he said. "If you have 91 different laws with different heights or restrictions, that would be a huge hindrance to any commercial user."

Schuknecht said six states currently have comprehensive drone laws similar to this one.

"If you're Amazon, which has a huge distribution facility here in Phoenix, and you want to start testing the dropping off of packages, you are more likely to do it in a state that has addressed drone legislation," he said. "It's my sense that the Legislature wanted to be at the front of the wave here and get as many companies that are thinking of doing this to come and set up shop."

Plus, he said, with Arizona's sunny weather, it's a great place to fly drones.