By Mary Frances McGowan
cleveland.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law establishing new rules for law enforcement agencies’ use of drones, including when police must obtain a search warrant and when they may conduct surveillance without one.
Current law requires warrants in some situations involving manned aircraft but does not specifically address unmanned aircraft, commonly known as drones.
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House Bill 251 requires police to obtain a search warrant before using a drone to enter or observe the interior of a home, business or other location when a warrant would otherwise be required for an in-person search.
The bill includes several exceptions. Police may use drones without a warrant to respond to emergencies, patrol within 50 miles of a national border, respond to environmental or weather-related disasters, investigate traffic crashes, document crime scenes and conduct threat assessments before large public events.
Another exception drew opposition from critics who argued the language could allow broad surveillance. The provision allows police to use drones without a warrant when they “operate in navigable airspace, in a physically nonintrusive manner, in order to observe what is otherwise visible to the naked eye.”
“In many ways, it is a blank check for law enforcement and government to continue warrantless surveillance limited only by their financial resources,” Gary Daniels, legislative director for the ACLU of Ohio, testified.
The law also allows police to collect information from a public area if there is reasonable suspicion of criminal activity there.
The legislation prohibits law enforcement agencies from using drones armed with lethal weapons and makes drone surveillance and flight data public records unless they qualify for an exemption under Ohio’s public records law.
The measure also restricts public entities from purchasing or acquiring drone systems manufactured or assembled by a foreign adversary. Critics raised concerns because many law enforcement agencies and other public entities use drones and related equipment made in China.
Those restrictions will not take effect immediately. The law gives public entities four years to comply before the provisions take effect.
The measure passed the House and Senate on June 10 with bipartisan support before being signed into law by DeWine last week. It takes effect 90 days from DeWine’s signing.
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