SB26-024: YOUR NO VOTE IS RESPECTFULLY REQUESTED

WHAT DOES THE BILL DO?

Senate Bill 26-024, State and Local Unmanned Aircraft Regulation, would preempt local authority over drones by voiding existing local ordinances that were designed to protect communities by limiting how cities and towns can manage drone activity on public property. While framed as an effort to avoid a patchwork of local drone ordinances, the bill goes beyond what is necessary to ensure consistency with existing federal regulations and instead restricts municipalities from ensuring the safety of their communities on matters unrelated to aviation, including management of public property, public safety, and nuisances to wildlife.

 

WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE NO

SB26-024 creates confusion where none exists. Federal authority over airspace is already clear and uncontested. Municipalities are not regulating flight paths or airspace.

• Cities and towns routinely manage drone use at permitted events, in parks, and in natural areas. SB26-024’s narrow carve-outs fail to account for real-world impacts, especially when drones launch or land off-site but affect public spaces.
• The bill’s prohibition on regulating drone “operation,” which is undefined, could be interpreted to preempt local authority over takeoff and landing on public property.
• SB26-024 prohibits a municipality from keeping, adopting, or enforcing any drone-specific ordinances that address intrusions of privacy or nuisances using drones.
  

YOUR OPPOSITION IS RESPECTFULLY REQUESTED

CML respectfully requests your NO vote on SB26-024. This bill preempts first and asks questions later. There is no demonstrated evidence of a patchwork problem. In fact, residents frequently ask their towns and cities for more safeguards related to drone use, not fewer. By disrupting longstanding precedent, SB26-024 does not fill a gap, it widens one.

CONTACT

Owen Brigner | CML legislative & policy advocate | 419-786-9703 | obrigner@cml.org