Louisiana Senate Revives Drone Bill
Louisiana's drone bill appeared to be dead in the water or more correctly dead on the Senate floor after a Monday vote. But Senator Dan Claitor decided that the failure was a result of his inadequate explanation of the bill and not the bill itself.
Claitor reintroduced the bill to the Senate yesterday and this time, with a more concise explanation, the bill passed by a vote of 22-16
Claitor's proposal, Senate Bill 330, would create the Deterrence of Reconnaissance Over Noncriminal Entities, or DRONE Act. This act would prohibit any private citizen or government entity to fly an unmanned aircraft or "drone" over private property to conduct surveillance. The act also prohibits the taking or sharing of images obtained in such a way.The bill does provide exemptions for law enforcement in on going criminal investigations.
Some other exceptions included in the bill are surveillance for agriculture and after disasters or catastrophes where sending in an unmanned surveillance device is deemed safer than sending in people.