BILL NUMBER: S1380

SPONSOR: RITCHIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the correction law, in relation to civilian drone use
near a correctional facility

 
PURPOSE:

To prohibit civilian drone use within one thousand feet of a correction-
al facility.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the correction law by adding a new section 625 prohib-
iting drone use within 1000 feet of a correctional facility or a local
correctional facility in this state. This section also defines the term
drone pursuant to this provision and provides penalties for violating
this law.

              

This prohibition shall not apply to the operation of a drone by any
person or entity that the federal aviation administration has authorized
to operate a drone from commercial purpose, where the drone is operated
in a manner that complies with that authorization.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Article 22 of the Correction Law contains miscellaneous provisions.
There is no existing law related to the regulation of civilian drone use
in the Correction Law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The use of unmanned aerial systems, or drones, including recreational
civilian drone use, has increased exponentially in recent years.  Drones
have a variety of uses, including law enforcement, land surveillance,
wildlife tracking, search and rescue operations, disaster response,
border patrol and photography. While drone use has revolutionized these
enterprises and lead to many successful innovations, not all drone use
is innocuous.

In August of this year a drone dropped a package containing tobacco,
marijuana, and heroin into the Mansfield Correctional Institution in
Mansfield, Ohio. Inmates discovered the package and it was only after a
fight broke out relating to the package that authorities discovered that
a drone was responsible for the illegal delivery. Similarly, that same
month authorities in Maryland arrested two men for an alleged scheme to
use a drone to deliver drugs, pornography, and a firearm into a prison.
Police were responding to a report of a suspicious car near the Western
Correctional Institution, in Cumberland, Maryland when they discovered
the men inside the vehicle were in possession of an aerial drone, a
handgun, drugs, and pornographic DVDs.

Contraband in prisons contributes to violence endangering the safety and
wellbeing of both inmates and correctional staff. It is paramount that
this state restricts the introduction of contraband into correctional
institutions at every entry point. Today, this must include aerial
access points through the use of drones.

To that end, this legislation prohibits civilian drone use within one
thousand feet of a correctional facility. Violating this provision shall
result in a civil penalty of $1000.00 for the first offense and is
punishable as a misdemeanor for each subsequent offence. By restricting
drone use in the immediate vicinity of a correctional institution this
bill promotes a safer and more harmonious prison environment by keeping
all members of the correctional community safe. For foregoing reasons it
is imperative that this bill is enacted.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-2018: S.2125 Passed the Senate/ A.6931 - Referred to Corrections

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.