BILL AS INTRODUCED H.284
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1 H.284
2 Introduced by Representatives Morgan of Milton, Leavitt of Grand Isle, and
3 Taylor of Milton
4 Referred to Committee on
5 Date:
6 Subject: Public safety; drones
7 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to (1) prohibit a
8 person from flying a drone for hobby or recreational purposes at an altitude of
9 less than 100 feet above privately owned real property without the written
10 consent of the property owner; (2) prohibit the use of a drone to record an
11 image of a person on privately owned real property in violation of the person’s
12 reasonable expectation of privacy without the person’s written consent; and
13 (3) require persons engaged in the business of selling drones to notify
14 purchasers about the requirements for flying a drone above privately owned
15 real property without the property owner’s prior written consent.
16 An act relating to regulating drones above privately owned real property
17 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
18 Sec. 1. 20 V.S.A. § 4626 is added to read:
19 § 4626. DRONES; OPERATION OVER PRIVATE PROPERTY WITHOUT
20 CONSENT OF OWNER; CIVIL PENALTY
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1 (a) A person shall not fly a drone for hobby or recreational purposes at an
2 altitude of less than 100 feet above privately owned real property unless the
3 person has obtained prior written consent from the property owner.
4 (b) A person shall not, without the prior written consent of the property
5 owner or occupant, use a drone to record an image of privately owned real
6 property or of the owner or occupant of the property with the intent to conduct
7 surveillance on the person or the property in violation of the person’s
8 reasonable expectation of privacy. For purposes of this subsection, a person is
9 presumed to have a reasonable expectation of privacy on the person’s privately
10 owned real property if the person is not observable by another person located
11 at ground level in a place where the other person has a legal right to be,
12 regardless of whether the person is observable from the air using a drone.
13 (c) A person engaged in the business of selling drones shall provide written
14 notice to each purchaser of a drone required to be registered by the U.S.
15 Department of Transportation about the requirements under subsections (a) and
16 (b) of this section for flying a drone above privately owned real property
17 without the property owner’s prior written consent.
18 (d) A person who violates this section shall be assessed a civil penalty of
19 not more than:
20 (1) $50.00 for a first violation; or
21 (2) $250.00 for a second or subsequent violation.
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1 (e) As used in this section:
2 (1) “Property owner” means a person who owns, leases, licenses, or
3 otherwise controls ownership or use of land, or an employee or agent of that
4 person.
5 (2) “Surveillance” means:
6 (A) with respect to an owner or occupant of privately owned real
7 property, the observation of the person with sufficient visual clarity to be able
8 to obtain information about the person’s identity, habits, conduct, movements,
9 or whereabouts; or
10 (B) with respect to privately owned real property, the observation of
11 the property’s physical improvements with sufficient visual clarity to be able to
12 determine unique identifying features about the property or information about
13 its owners or occupants.
14 Sec. 2. 4 V.S.A. § 1102 is amended to read:
15 § 1102. JUDICIAL BUREAU; JURISDICTION
16 ***
17 (b) The Judicial Bureau shall have jurisdiction of the following matters:
18 ***
19 (31) Violations of 20 V.S.A. § 4626, relating to flying, and providing
20 information about flying, a drone above privately owned real property without
21 the owner’s consent.
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1 Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
2 This act shall take effect on passage.
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Statutes affected:
As Introduced: 4-1102