Hawaii lawmakers are working to tackle the thorny issue of how to regulate drones again this year but have already sidelined one bill while acknowledging that a second measure will likely morph into a permanent working group to further study the issue.
On Monday lawmakers deferred Senate Bill 632, which would have barred drones at public parks and beaches without the consent of the state Department of Transportation unless they were being operated by state or county law enforcement officers.
The bill raised questions about whether the state has the authority to regulate federal airspace. The measure also attracted opposition from drone enthusiasts and businesses worried about blanket restrictions on recreational and commercial uses of the cameras, as well as state and county agencies that want to use the devices for their own public purposes, such as to assist with rescue operations.
“We will rest on it and see what happens next year when we put our minds together and hopefully come up with something. We do need to come up with something,” said Sen. Lorraine Inouye, chairwoman of the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee, in announcing that her committee, as well as the Senate Water and Land Committee, had decided to kill the bill for the year.
Lawmakers will have the option of resurrecting the measure next year.
The House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee also decided Monday to delay decision making on House Bill 314 until Feb. 22. The bill, a more expansive proposal, would create restrictions on the use of drones around airports and emergency response vehicles while also prohibiting their use over schools, hospitals, places of worship, prisons or police stations without permission.
The proposed measure also lays out privacy restrictions, stipulating that drone users can’t take photographs or video of people inside private locations. Violators could face fines and a court order to destroy the photos or video footage.
More study expected
Rep. Angus McKelvey, chairman of the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee, indicated that his committee will likely move toward creating a permanent working group to study the drone issue instead of trying to push through regulations this year.
McKelvey said the working group would collaborate with other states that are studying the issue and try to create some consistency in laws and regulations across states.
“Hopefully, we can harmonize all of our state laws while creating a united front with the federal government on what changes we would want to see made at the (Federal Aviation Administration),” he said.
Both federal and state regulators have been scrambling to figure out how to regulate drones as the popularity of the unmanned aerial devices for both commercial and recreational use has taken off. The FAA has come out with national regulations in recent years, while states have passed a patchwork of measures addressing a wide range of concerns.
As of last month 33 states had enacted laws addressing drones, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The laws address issues such as whether they can be used by law enforcement or other state agencies, the use of the devices for hunting and their use by hobbyists.
The loud buzzing of the unmanned aerial vehicles, as they are referred to by the industry, has irritated beachgoers and hikers in Hawaii trying to enjoy the serenity of nature; alarmed pilots worried about collisions; and given rise to a host of privacy concerns with reports of the flying cameras being spotted over people’s homes or even peering into windows.
But they can also capture stunning footage, help emergency personnel and aid academic research. For lawmakers, trying to regulate the devices is a difficult balancing act.
Curt Cottrell, administrator for the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ State Parks Division, said his agency hopes to use the cameras to help find homeless encampments and check on remote fence lines that control invasive species.
“There’s a lot of nuances as the technology and use evolve. You have the commercial guys and the pure hobbyists and then the management end where we want to use drones, too,” Cottrell said. “I have a homeless population at Diamond Head that’s very difficult to see and get to, but with a drone we could map out all of the locations and trails.”
At the same time, he’s worried about the impact the proliferation of drones is having on people’s enjoyment of nature, noting that he too has found them to be a nuisance while hiking.
“I felt the invasion of my aesthetic, spiritual sense of enjoyment,” he said. “It’s like the same guys who hike with their music boxes on the outside and their Bluetoothing. It’s like, ‘Dude, put in headphones. I don’t want to listen to that while I’m hiking.’ So imagine, you got music, drones, it’s like, ‘Seriously?’”
