Review - HR 7525 Introduced – State cUAS Authority

Back in February, Rep Burlison (R,MO) introduced HR 7525, the Counter Drone State and Local Defender Act. The bill would require the DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish a pilot program “determine the appropriate policies, procedures, and protocols necessary to allow State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies to acquire, deploy, and operate approved counter-UAS mitigation systems and mitigate unauthorized UAS operations.” No new funding is authorized. 

The legislation would add a new section to 49 USC Chapter 448, Unmanned Aircraft Systems: §44815, State, Local, and Tribal law enforcement counter drone programs. 

Moving Forward  

Burlison is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to which this bill was assigned for consideration. This means that there may be sufficient influence to see the bill considered by the Committee.  

I do not, however, expect that there would be sufficient influence to see the bill adopted by the HTIC. This is because there is still a general disagreement amongst legislators about how to deal with the various statutes that would make various cUAS activities illegal under U.S. Code. This bill uses the legally most questionable, just state that those laws do not apply, and it effectively gives SLTT executives the right to determine where those laws will not apply. That devolution of federal authority will not sit well with most legislators. 

For more informaion on the provisions of this bill, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/hr-7525-introduced-state-cuas-authority - subscription required.