Jefferson County Rep. John Hodgson didn't take long to convince colleagues in a House committee to back House Bill 19.
"Right now, there's nothing in drone regulations to prevent surveillance by a nosy neighbor or a malicious actor," he said. "So this bill has adequate protections for legitimate use of drones, for all legitimate business uses. Those are spelled out in the bill... It provides people a path of legal remedy if you've got a neighbor or someone harassing you. Whereas right now, you can't shoot the drone down. You you can't sue them. This gives you an an avenue to say stop this behavior or there will be legal action."
Those "legitimate" uses of drones include recreation or professional use — as long as there is no intent to conduct surveillance on private property or publication or use of improperly obtained images. Insurance companies would also be allowed to use unmanned aircraft to investigate damage.
Under the bill, individuals with complaints could initiate civil actions against other individuals or agencies and seek injunctive relief, damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees.