Senate Study Bill 1191 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON ZUMBACH) A BILL FOR An Act prohibiting the use of remotely piloted aircraft flying 1 over farm property, and making penalties applicable. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2916XC (2) 91 da/ns
S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 715E.1, subsections 1, 2, and 8, Code 1 2025, are amended by striking the subsections. 2 Sec. 2. Section 715E.1, Code 2025, is amended by adding the 3 following new subsections: 4 NEW SUBSECTION . 3A. Farm animal means an animal belonging 5 to the bovine, caprine, ovine, or porcine species; farm deer as 6 defined in section 170.1; ostriches, rheas, or emus; turkeys, 7 geese, chickens, or other domestic poultry; or a horse, pony, 8 mule, jenny, donkey, or hinny. 9 NEW SUBSECTION . 3B. Farm commodity means a farm animal, 10 farm crop, or honey. 11 NEW SUBSECTION . 3C. a. Farm crop means a plant used for 12 food, animal feed, fiber, or oil, including a forage or cereal 13 plant. 14 b. Farm crop includes but is not limited to alfalfa, 15 barley, buckwheat, corn, flax, forage, millet, oats, popcorn, 16 rye, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, wheat, and grasses used for 17 forage or silage. 18 NEW SUBSECTION . 3D. a. Farm equipment means a device 19 or an attachment to a device designed and manufactured to be 20 principally used for farming, including the production, care, 21 or harvesting of a farm commodity. 22 b. Farm equipment includes but is not limited to tractors; 23 trailers; combines; tillage, planting, and cultivating 24 implements; balers; irrigation implements; injection and 25 application devices; manure haulers and spreaders; and 26 all-terrain vehicles. 27 NEW SUBSECTION . 3E. a. Farm structure means a building 28 or other structure used in farming, including the production of 29 farm commodities. 30 b. Farm structure includes but is not limited to the 31 principal residence of a farmer, a formed or unformed structure 32 that is part of an animal feeding operation as defined in 33 section 459.102 and related pipes and manure stockpiles, a 34 barn, a stable, a storage crib, a structure used to store seeds 35 -1- LSB 2916XC (2) 91 da/ns 1/ 6
S.F. _____ or grain, an outbuilding, and a shed. 1 NEW SUBSECTION . 3F. Farmer means the person who is 2 actively engaged in farming as defined in section 9H.1. 3 NEW SUBSECTION . 3G. a. Farmstead means real property 4 consisting of forty or more contiguous acres, if all of the 5 following apply: 6 (1) The real property is owned or leased by a farmer. 7 (2) The real property is used by the farmer for farming, 8 including the production of a farm commodity. 9 (3) At least fifteen thousand dollars was generated from the 10 sale of farm commodities produced on the real property in the 11 last calendar year. 12 b. Farmstead includes but is not limited to a crop field 13 or pastureland. 14 c. Farmstead does not include any real property located 15 within the corporate limits of a city. 16 Sec. 3. Section 715E.1, subsection 9, Code 2025, is amended 17 to read as follows: 18 9. Surveillance device means a camera or electronic 19 equipment that transmits or records images an image , sounds 20 sound , or data if the transmission or recording is capable of 21 reasonably identifying any of the following: 22 a. The identity, physical appearance, conduct, or voice of 23 an individual. 24 b. The species of an agricultural a farm animal. 25 c. The type or use of farm equipment. 26 d. The type or use of a farm structure. 27 c. e. The unique physical characteristics of land or an 28 improvement to land. 29 Sec. 4. Section 715E.3, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 30 2025, is amended to read as follows: 31 b. Controls the flight of remotely piloted aircraft over 32 a secure farmstead area , if the secure farmstead area is 33 not owned or leased by the person, and the remotely piloted 34 aircraft remains over the secure farmstead area within a 35 -2- LSB 2916XC (2) 91 da/ns 2/ 6
S.F. _____ secured area of four hundred feet surrounding a farm animal, 1 farm equipment, or a farm structure located on the farmstead . 2 However, the secured area shall not include any space that is 3 in the corporate limits of a city. 4 Sec. 5. Section 715E.4, subsection 1, paragraph b, Code 5 2025, is amended to read as follows: 6 b. Controls the flight of a remotely piloted aircraft 7 equipped with a surveillance device over a secure farmstead 8 area , if the secure farmstead area is not owned or leased by 9 the person, and the remotely piloted aircraft remains over the 10 secure farmstead area within a secured area of four hundred 11 feet surrounding a farm animal, farm equipment, or a farm 12 structure located on the farmstead . However, the secured area 13 shall not include any space that is in the corporate limits of 14 a city. 15 Sec. 6. Section 715E.5, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended 16 to read as follows: 17 1. A person who is the owner or lessee of a homestead 18 or secure farmstead area may petition the district court to 19 obtain an order for a temporary injunction to prevent the 20 respondent from using any remotely piloted aircraft equipped 21 with a surveillance device, if a preponderance of evidence 22 indicates that the respondent is harassing the petitioner by 23 controlling the flight of the remotely piloted aircraft over 24 the persons homestead or secure farmstead area in violation of 25 section 715E.3 or 715E.4 . The court shall grant the temporary 26 injunction for not more than two years. The court may continue 27 the injunction upon a petition filed by the petitioner with the 28 court prior to the orders expiration. 29 Sec. 7. Section 715E.5, subsection 3, paragraph b, 30 subparagraph (1), subparagraph division (b), Code 2025, is 31 amended to read as follows: 32 (b) The person is an the owner of an agricultural animal a 33 farm animal, farm equipment, or a farm structure that may be 34 identified in the recording. 35 -3- LSB 2916XC (2) 91 da/ns 3/ 6
S.F. _____ Sec. 8. Section 715E.5, subsection 3, paragraph b, 1 subparagraph (2), Code 2025, is amended to read as follows: 2 (2) A person cannot claim an ownership interest in a 3 retrievable image, sound, or data that includes an image, 4 sound, or data that may identify another individual, an 5 agricultural animal a farm animal, farm equipment, or a farm 6 structure owned by another person, or land or an improvement 7 owned by another person, unless that other individual or person 8 consents. 9 Sec. 9. Section 715E.6, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2025, 10 is amended to read as follows: 11 Sections 715E.3 and 715E.4 do not prohibit a person from 12 controlling a remotely piloted aircraft flying over a persons 13 homestead or secure farmstead area if the person controlling 14 the remotely piloted aircraft is any of the following: 15 Sec. 10. Section 715E.6, subsections 1 and 9, Code 2025, are 16 amended to read as follows: 17 1. A person who acts with the consent of the owner of the 18 homestead or secure farmstead area . 19 9. The owner or lessee of the homestead or secure farmstead 20 area . 21 EXPLANATION 22 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 23 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 24 BACKGROUND GENERAL. 2024 Iowa Acts, chapter 1131, 25 prohibited the use of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) flying 26 over certain areas, including a homestead or that part of 27 a farmstead where agricultural animals are confined and 28 maintained (Code chapter 715E). An RPA is a self-propelled 29 vehicle used for navigation and flight, is controlled by the 30 use of an electronic system, and is not designed to carry a 31 human. A surveillance device that is part of an RPA refers 32 to a camera or electronic equipment that transmits or records 33 images, sounds, or data from a distance. The location that is 34 part of the farmstead confining and maintaining agricultural 35 -4- LSB 2916XC (2) 91 da/ns 4/ 6
S.F. _____ animals is referred to as an animal feeding operation. A 1 secure farmstead area includes an animal feeding operation and 2 an additional 400 feet of surrounding real property if both are 3 owned or leased by the same person (Code section 715E.1). 4 BACKGROUND CRIMINAL OFFENSES. Code chapter 715E created 5 two related criminal offenses. The first offense, referred to 6 as intrusion, is committed when a person knowingly controls the 7 flight of an RPA over either of the two protected locations 8 (Code section 715E.3). The second offense, referred to as 9 surveillance, is committed when a person knowingly controls 10 the flight of an RPA equipped with a surveillance device over 11 either of those same locations (Code section 715E.4). In each 12 case, the applicable criminal penalty is enhanced if a person 13 has been previously convicted of either offense. For a person 14 committing intrusion, the penalty is a simple misdemeanor 15 subject to an enhanced penalty of a serious misdemeanor, and 16 for a person committing surveillance, the penalty is a serious 17 misdemeanor subject to an enhanced penalty of an aggravated 18 misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement 19 for no more than 30 days and a fine of at least $105 but 20 not more than $855. A serious misdemeanor is punishable by 21 confinement for no more than one year and a fine of at least 22 $430 but not more than $2,560. An aggravated misdemeanor is 23 punishable by confinement for no more than two years and a fine 24 of at least $855 but not more than $8,540. 25 BACKGROUND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. A person who owns or leases 26 a homestead or secure farmstead area may petition the district 27 court to obtain an order for a temporary injunction to prevent 28 a party from using an RPA equipped with a surveillance device 29 (Code section 715E.5). 30 BACKGROUND EXCEPTIONS. Code chapter 715E prohibitions 31 do not apply in a number of circumstances based on consent by 32 the locations owner, operation of an RPA in compliance with 33 federal aviation administration regulations, government actions 34 in compliance with an interstate compact, the use of public 35 -5- LSB 2916XC (2) 91 da/ns 5/ 6
S.F. _____ utilities and railroads, an RPAs high-altitude flight, the use 1 of an RPA to collect scientific information, and a governments 2 exercise of a public road right-of-way. 3 BILLS PROVISIONS TERMINOLOGY CHANGE. This bill replaces 4 the term secure farmstead area, which is defined to include 5 an animal feeding operation, with the term farmstead. The 6 bill redefines the term farmstead to mean at least 40 7 contiguous acres of real property used for farming, subject 8 to certain conditions: (1) the real property is owned or 9 leased by a farmer, defined as a person actively engaged in 10 farming, (2) the real property is used for farming, including 11 the production of a farm commodity, and (3) at least $15,000 12 was generated from the sale of farm commodities produced on the 13 real property in the last calendar year. The bill establishes 14 a secured area of 400 feet from certain types of property 15 located on the farmstead, which includes a farm animal, farm 16 equipment, or a farm structure. However, the secured area 17 cannot include any space within the corporate limits of a city. 18 An RPA is prohibited from entering into this space, subject to 19 the exceptions that apply to a homestead. 20 BILLS PROVISIONS INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. The same right to 21 petition a district court to obtain an order for injunctive 22 relief that applies under current law to the owner or lessee of 23 a homestead or a secure farmstead area applies under the bill 24 to the owner or lessee of a homestead or farmstead. 25 PENALTIES. The same criminal offenses and penalties that 26 protect a homestead and secure farmstead area under current 27 law protect a homestead and a secure farmstead, including a 28 secure animal feeding operation, under the bill, including for 29 intrusion and surveillance. 30 -6- LSB 2916XC (2) 91 da/ns 6/ 6