Drone bill sparks constitutional debate in Louisiana Senate committee

Press

By Emily Lane, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

A Louisiana Senate judiciary committee approved on Tuesday (April 15) a bill that would set up laws regulating unmanned aircrafts, known with increasing awareness in recent years as drones.

The Deterrence of Reconnaissance Over Noncriminal Entities, or DRONE Act, created by the bill, prohibits unmanned aircrafts from conducting surveillance and capturing images on private property. The bill also bans possession or use or distribution of such images.

Senate Bill 330, sponsored by Sen. Dan Claitor, R-Baton Rouge, includes more than 15 exceptions to the proposed law, including those for law enforcement during catastrophes, agricultural reasons and movie or television filming.

Claitor said 13 other states adopted 16 laws regulating drones already, and the legislation addresses new technology with the potential to tread on people’s privacy. “Just because you can do it with technology doesn’t mean that it’s right or that you should.”

Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton, asked if the media should be excepted from the proposed law during times of disaster or news events. Asking Claitor to clarify what limitations his legislation would place upon news media, Claitor pulled an iconic example from 1994 involving O.J. Simpson, a white Ford Bronco and a high-speed chase. “I would say if OJ (Simpson) is going down the freeway (the press) can (use drones) on public property,” he said. “When he starts driving on corn fields, the police could (use drones, and the press court not).”

Adley referenced a more recent news event, the Boston Marathon bombings, to illustrate the role drones obtained by new media could play during breaking news situations. He said the nation watched the manhunt from the bombings — which occurred one year ago today — led to suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev hiding in a trailered boat in someone’s private back yard. Adley said he wasn’t sure if media images helped lead law enforcement to the suspect’s hiding place, but noted news media was able to capture the scene. “I have as much trouble of big brother government spying on me, as I do (the media),” Adley said.

Claitor maintained, though, that “the First Amendment doesn’t trump the Fourth Amendment.”

Sen. Elbert Guillory, R-Opelousas, asked the committee pass the bill with the caveat that Claitor and others work out some amendments addressing the media and other issues. Senate Judiciary Committee C approved the bill at Guillory’s urging, but his suggestion the legislation receive “tweaking” before the full Senate hears it does not, by rule, have to be heeded.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/04/drone_bill_sparks_constitution.html