“Ohio will now have the ability to prosecute their own UAV laws that mirror federal law,” Willis said in a press release. “This legislation doesn’t create any new licensure regulations for UAV pilots. It allows Ohio to have local control of our airspace and hold pilots that are operating in an unsafe manner accountable without having to find a U.S. attorney to prosecute. This is a step in the right direction, but there is still more we need to do to protect our airways.”
According to Willis’ press release, H.B. 77 specifically forbids:
- Operating a drone in a reckless manner that endangers others;
- Operating a drone in a way that is prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration;
- Operating a drone that interferes with first responder activities;
- Operating a drone to record or loiter over or near “critical infrastructure,” which can include railroads, T.V. or radio transmission facilities, courthouses, police stations, hospitals, jails, military installations and more, according to the legislature’s nonpartisan analysis of the bill.
The bill also authorizes local governments to establish their own ordinances on private drone use in or above parks or other property owned by that local government.
The legal use of drones has been in the news lately after UAVs have been seen over and near military bases across the country, including Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
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Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
