A bill recently introduced in the Washington state legislature addressing privacy and civil liberties concerns with the use of drones died before a vote. While the primary reason given was the lack of time to consider the bill due to more pressing issues, there was significant opposition within the state to the intent of the proposed legislation.
The bill faced opposition from model aviation enthusiasts to the Boeing Corporation. In a statement released by Boeing a company representative that said that, if passed, the bill had the potential of negatively affecting job growth in the state and that, “… it would be counterproductive to rush into regulating this burgeoning industry.”
More than 30 other states are still considering some form legislation that would restrict the use of domestic unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in their state, including Arkansas and Minnesota, the two most recent.
The Academy’s Government Relations team continues to update the list of states with legislation that includes drone language in the government relations area of modelaircraft.org. To find more information about the proposed legislation in these and other states across the country, visit the current map located on the AMA Government Relations page.