Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S1557 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1513 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1557
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Michael O. Moore
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to the use of unmanned aerial systems.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Michael O. MooreSecond Worcester 1 of 5
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1513 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1557
18	18	By Mr. Moore, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1557) of Michael O. Moore for
19	19	legislation relative to the use of unmanned aerial systems. Public Safety and Homeland Security.
20	20	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
21	21	SEE SENATE, NO. 1619 OF 2021-2022.]
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
25	25	(2023-2024)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act relative to the use of unmanned aerial systems.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 6 of the General Laws, as appearing in 2020 Official Edition, is
31	31	2hereby amended by inserting after section 220 the following section:-
32	32	3 Section 221.
33	33	4 (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:-
34	34	5 “Unmanned aerial vehicle”, an aircraft that is operated without the possibility of direct
35	35	6human intervention from within or on the aircraft.
36	36	7 “Critical infrastructure facility”, any facility defined as critical infrastructure pursuant to
37	37	8section 369 of the federal aviation administration extension, safety and security act of 2016 and
38	38	9the federal aviation administration reauthorization act of 2018. 2 of 5
39	39	10 (b) Any use of an unmanned aerial vehicle shall fully comply with all Federal Aviation
40	40	11Administration requirements and guidelines. Unmanned aerial vehicles may not be equipped
41	41	12with weapons. The acquisition, purchase, or procurement of unmanned aerial vehicles shall be
42	42	13authorized, in the case of a unit of state or county government, by the Secretary of Public Safety,
43	43	14or, in the case of a municipality, by the city council or other governing body, subject to approval
44	44	15by the Secretary of Public Safety. No person shall knowingly operate an unmanned aircraft in
45	45	16violation of airspace restrictions established for critical infrastructure facilities as established
46	46	17pursuant to section 2209 of the federal aviation administration extension, safety and security act
47	47	18of 2016 and the federal aviation administration reauthorization act of 2018.
48	48	19 (c) It is unlawful for a government entity or official to operate an unmanned aerial
49	49	20vehicle except as follows:
50	50	21 (1) in order to execute a warrant issued under section 2 of chapter 276.
51	51	22 (2) for purposes unrelated to criminal investigation or other law enforcement purposes,
52	52	23provided that information derived from such operation shall not be received in evidence in any
53	53	24criminal trial, hearing, or grand jury proceeding, or maintained, shared, or used for any
54	54	25intelligence purpose.
55	55	26 (3) in case of emergency when there is reasonable cause to believe that a threat to the life
56	56	27or safety of a person is imminent, subject to the following limitations:
57	57	28 i. the operator shall document the factual basis for the emergency; and
58	58	29 ii. not later than 48 hours after the unmanned aerial vehicle is initially deployed, a
59	59	30supervisory official shall file an affidavit describing the grounds for the emergency access. 3 of 5
60	60	31 (d) The lawful operation of unmanned aerial vehicles described in subsection (b) and the
61	61	32disclosure of information acquired by the operation of such vehicles shall be subject to the
62	62	33following limitations:
63	63	34 (1) When operated pursuant to a warrant, unmanned aerial vehicles shall collect data only
64	64	35on the warrant subject and avoid data collection on individuals, homes, and areas other than the
65	65	36warrant subject.
66	66	37 (2) Facial recognition and other biometric matching technology shall not be used to
67	67	38analyze data produced by an unmanned aerial vehicle, except as judicially authorized by section
68	68	39220 of this chapter.
69	69	40 (3) Under no circumstances shall unmanned aerial vehicles be used to track, collect, or
70	70	41maintain information about the political, religious, or social views, associations, or activities of
71	71	42any individual, group, association, organization, corporation, business or partnership or other
72	72	43entity unless such information relates directly to investigation of specific criminal activity, and
73	73	44there is probable cause to suspect the subject is involved in that activity.
74	74	45 (e) Data collected on an individual, home, or area other than the target that justified
75	75	46deployment shall not be used, stored, copied, transmitted, or disclosed for any purpose, except
76	76	47with the written consent of the data subject. Such data shall be deleted as soon as practical, and
77	77	48in no event later than 24 hours after collection.
78	78	49 (f) Information acquired by government use of an unmanned aerial vehicle and
79	79	50information derived therefrom shall not be received in evidence in any judicial, regulatory, or
80	80	51other government proceeding if: 4 of 5
81	81	52 (1) the use of the unmanned aerial vehicle was unlawful;
82	82	53 (2) the unmanned aerial vehicle was used for an unlawful purpose or in an unlawful
83	83	54manner; or
84	84	55 (3) the disclosure would be in violation of the data retention limits in subsection (e).
85	85	56 (g) A government office or public official may include in its application for a warrant a
86	86	57request for an order delaying the notification required under subsection (g) for a period not to
87	87	58exceed 90 days, and the court shall issue the order if it determines there is reason to believe that
88	88	59notification of the existence of the warrant may have an adverse result as defined in section 1B
89	89	60of chapter 276. Upon expiration of any period of delay granted under this subsection, the
90	90	61government office or public official shall provide the warrant subject a copy of the warrant
91	91	62together with notice required under, and by the means described in, subsection (h).
92	92	63 (h) Not later than seven days after information is collected by an unmanned aerial vehicle
93	93	64pursuant to subsection (c)(1) of this section, the government entity or official shall serve upon, or
94	94	65deliver by registered or first-class mail, electronic mail, or other means reasonably calculated to
95	95	66be effective as specified by the court issuing the warrant to the subject of the warrant a copy of
96	96	67the warrant, a copy of the application for the warrant, and notice that informs such individual:-
97	97	68 (1) of the nature of the law enforcement inquiry with reasonable specificity;
98	98	69 (2) that information regarding the warrant subject was collected, the dates on which the
99	99	70information was collected, and a description of that information;
100	100	71 (3) whether notification was delayed pursuant to subsection (g); and
101	101	72 (4) the judicial official authorizing any delay in notification. 5 of 5
102	102	73 (i) On the second Friday of January of each calendar year, any judge issuing or denying a
103	103	74warrant under subsection (c)(1) during the preceding calendar year shall report on each such
104	104	75warrant to the office of court management within the trial court:
105	105	76 (1) the fact that the warrant was applied for;
106	106	77 (2) the identity of the government entity or official making the application;
107	107	78 (3) the offense specified in the warrant or application therefor;
108	108	79 (4) the place where the information was to be obtained;
109	109	80 (5) the fact that the warrant was granted as applied for, was modified, or was denied; and
110	110	81 (6) the number and duration of any extensions of the warrant.
111	111	82 In June of each year, beginning in 22025, the court administrator in the office of court
112	112	83management within the trial court shall transmit to the legislature a full and complete report
113	113	84concerning the number of applications for warrants authorizing the use of unmanned aerial
114	114	85vehicles pursuant to subsection (c)(1) of this section. Such reports shall include a summary and
115	115	86analysis of the data required to be filed with that office. Such reports shall be filed with the
116	116	87offices of the clerk of the house and the senate and shall be public records. The court
117	117	88administrator in the office of court management within the trial court shall issue guidance
118	118	89regarding the form of such reports.
119	119	90 SECTION 2. Section 65 of chapter 131 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
120	120	91Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “helicopter”, in line 3, the
121	121	92following words:- , unmanned aerial vehicle.