Bills Introduced – 06-26-18

Yesterday with both the House and Senate in session there were 36 bills introduced. Of those three may be of specific interest to readers of this blog:

HR 6229 To authorize the programs of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and for other purposes. Rep. Comstock, Barbara [R-VA-10]

HR 6235 To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the use of unauthorized unmanned aircrafts over wildfires. Rep. Tipton, Scott R. [R-CO-3]

S 3132 A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the use of unauthorized unmanned aircrafts over wildfires. Sen. Gardner, Cory [R-CO]

HR 6229 is the official version of the bill that I discussed on Monday. It is being marked up in the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee today.

The two other bills are almost certainly companion measures written in response to a recent incident where a television news drone caused a grounding of firefighting aircraft during a wildfire in Colorado. There was a temporary flight restriction in place which made the flight illegal in the first place. One media report also noted that 43 CFR 9212.1(f) (interfering with firefighting efforts) could also be stretched to cover this issue. In any case, I will be watching these bills for any language that authorizes interception action in response to the violation.