Lawmakers Want To Shoot Down Use Of Drone Surveillance

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – Two Republican lawmakers want to shoot down the use of drones to conduct surveillance of people or private property.

Rep. Larry Metz, R-Yalaha, and Sen. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange filled the identical bills (HB 649 and SB 766) on Monday.

The bills would apply to individuals and state and local government agencies that might use drones equipped with such things as cameras to capture images. Unless consent is given, drones could not be used to gather such images of private property or the owners or occupants of the property for surveillance purposes.

Under the proposal, a "person is presumed to have a reasonable expectation of privacy on his or her privately owned or occupied real property if he or she is not observable by persons located at ground level in a place where they have a legal right to be, regardless of whether he or she is observable from the air with the use of a drone."

Violators could face lawsuits seeking damages and injunctions.

The bills would include exceptions for circumstances such as countering the risk of terrorist attacks or if police obtain search warrants that authorize the use of drones.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.