Georgia lawmakers are advancing multiple bills to further regulate drone operations across the state, citing concerns over public safety and national security.
They say the bills aim to protect Georgians from bad actors and foreign adversaries, but they would limit where drones can be operated as well as the countries that state and local governments can purchase them from.
“From a surveillance perspective, first and foremost, we have to protect the safety of people and also their privacy and personal liberties,” said House Minority Whip Sam Park, D-Lawrenceville, who is a board member on the House Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee.
On Wednesday, a panel of lawmakers unanimously approved House Bill 205, which would require the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency to compile a list of approved drones that state and local government officials could operate and purchase. Those drones need to comply with the standards of the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Defense.
The proposed law gives state and local government agencies three years to come into compliance.
State Rep. David Clark, R-Buford, the bill’s primary author, said DJI and Autel — two leading consumer drone companies in the U.S. — have close ties to the Chinese government. He said HB 205 would ensure that private data is not leaked to the Chinese government or other foreign adversaries through location tracking and aerial images taken by drones.
“There is no price tag on national security in our country,” Clark said.
A similar bill — Senate Bill 64 — would restrict Georgia from purchasing or operating drones under 55 pounds manufactured or assembled by companies in China or Russia.
“As UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) become more and more systemically important to our nation’s entire stream of commerce, we need to limit the ability of malevolent actors such as China and Russia from having an outsized influence on our economy and collecting rich aerial data on our citizens,” said state Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, who chairs the Science and Technology Committee.
Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, is the primary author of SB 64, which would incentivize the state to prioritize purchasing American-made drones.
Banning foreign drones could come with an economic cost.
A majority of commercially available drones are manufactured in China. Brody Baer, drone chair of the Georgia Geospatial Association, said high-quality American-made drones are often significantly more expensive than those manufactured in China.
The push for drone regulation comes in the wake of a plethora of drone sightings in New Jersey last year. In a briefing last month, the White House revealed the drones were authorized flights by the FAA and included hobbyists, as well as research and commercial flights.
Before the sightings, Congress launched a risk assessment into DJI and Autel — leading consumer drone companies in the U.S. — and other Chinese drone companies for potentially passing along sensitive data to the Chinese government.
While lawmakers debate these regulations, Wing, a drone delivery company, is looking to expand operations in Atlanta. The company demonstrated how its delivery service operates at Liberty Plaza last week.
Georgia legislators watched as a buzzing drone descended from the air, hovering about 20 feet from the ground as it lowered its tether and unclipped a small container with a can of Coke inside.
Wing, which has partnered with Walmart and DoorDash, has marketed its service as a way to deliver small last-minute grocery items or prescription drugs.
“Think about it at scale, where you’re going from a person sitting in traffic spending a lot of time driving a 2-ton car across the city, and you’re replacing that with an 11-pound Styrofoam drone,” Jacob Demmitt, Wing marketing and communications manager, told lawmakers.
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Other drone-related legislation:
House Bill 58: The bill would ban flying drones within 400 feet of large ticketed gatherings such as a sporting event or music festivals. The House Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee passed the bill on Wednesday.
House Bill 156: The legislation would establish the Department of Transportation as the authority over “vertiports,” which are areas designed for the takeoff, servicing and landing of drones.
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