NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3011
SPONSOR: Budget PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This legislation will impose limitations on the use of drones for law
enforcement purposes.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: The civil rights law is amended by adding a new section 52-b.
Section 2: This act shall take effect immediately.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
JUSTIFICATION:
In recent years, drones or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) have entered
civilian life. While drones are useful to regular people, corporations,
and government agencies, they can also harm people's privacy if proper
limits are not in place. Police surveillance of protests already produc-
es a chilling effect amongst the public who want to voice their concerns
over government abuse and social injustice. The use of drones in public
spaces and without a warrant will only further intensify the intim-
idation of the public and erode protected first amendment speech.
Law enforcement's employment of drones, which can access information
where privacy would reasonably be expected (filming through a window,
thermal imaging, etc.), for any alleged criminal activity should require
a warrant obtained from a judge. Any information or video obtained
through this process should be made available to the public through a
drone disclosure process.
Our legislation mandates law enforcement and other government agencies
to obtain a search warrant before deploying a drone. Also, it bans the
indiscriminate use of drones at concerts, protests, demonstrations, or
other actions protected by the first amendment. Additionally, our
legislation prohibits drones from utilizing facial recognition technolo-
gy, which has proven inaccurate and discriminatory in the targeting of
black and brown communities.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately upon passage.
