Moving Towards 'Comprehensive Drone Policy' Including Standards, Penalties

Legislation has been introduced in the Connecticut State Legislature that would set a "comprehensive" UAV policy for the state, with committee hearings planned soon.

State legislator Stephen Dagan (D), the chair of the public safety and security committee in the state's General Assembly, told the Connecticut Post that there are privacy and other regulatory issues associated with the new technology, and "we need to look at how to keep people safe."

One bill to be considered would establish a task force charged with gathering information about the aircraft, while another would set standards and penalties for the use of UAVs. "These are being used for weddings, special occasions, and by real estate companies," among other uses, Dagan said. "Whether its the state or federal government, we need to figure out how to regulate it."

A recent report to the General Assembly by the Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee recommended new laws that prohibits the use of UAVs as weapons, and to create a registration system for government-owned aircraft. The report said that privacy was the major concern for most citizens.

Connecticut was the state where a woman assaulted a quadcopter operator on a beach after accusing him of "spying" on people at the beach. It was later determined that she was the aggressor in the altercation. In another incident, a Moroccan man who reportedly planned to use one of the aircraft to bomb both a state school and a federal building was arrested.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.cga.ct.gov