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| To enact sections 4561.51 to 4561.58 of the Revised | 1 |
| Code to regulate the use of unmanned aerial | 2 |
| vehicles in this state. | 3 |
| Section 1. That sections 4561.51, 4561.52, 4561.53, 4561.54, | 4 |
| 4561.55, 4561.56, 4561.57, and 4561.58 of the Revised Code be | 5 |
| enacted to read as follows: | 6 |
| Sec. 4561.51. As used in sections 4561.51 to 4561.58 of the | 7 |
| Revised Code: | 8 |
| (A) "Employee" means a person who is employed by a department | 9 |
| or agency of either this state or a political subdivision of this | 10 |
| state. "Employee" includes a person who works on behalf of such a | 11 |
| department or agency pursuant to a contract executed between the | 12 |
| department or agency and the person or the person's employer. | 13 |
| (B) "Unmanned aerial vehicle" means an aircraft that is | 14 |
| operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from | 15 |
| within or on the aircraft. | 16 |
| Sec. 4561.52. Any operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle in | 17 |
| this state shall comply fully with all applicable federal aviation | 18 |
| administration requirements and guidelines. Acquisition of an | 19 |
| unmanned aerial vehicle by a department or agency of this state | 20 |
| shall be approved by the head of the department or agency seeking | 21 |
| such acquisition. Acquisition of an unmanned aerial vehicle by a | 22 |
| department or agency of a political subdivision of this state | 23 |
| shall be approved by the legislative authority of the political | 24 |
| subdivision seeking such acquisition. | 25 |
| Sec. 4561.53. (A) No employee shall operate an unmanned | 26 |
| aerial vehicle unless authorized to do so under section 4561.54 of | 27 |
| the Revised Code. | 28 |
| (B) No employee shall disclose information acquired through | 29 |
| the authorized operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle except as | 30 |
| provided in section 4561.54 of the Revised Code. | 31 |
| Sec. 4561.54. (A) An employee may operate an unmanned aerial | 32 |
| vehicle and disclose information acquired through the operation of | 33 |
| the unmanned aerial vehicle only as follows: | 34 |
| (1) A person provides a written statement to such an employee | 35 |
| giving the employee permission to operate the unmanned aerial | 36 |
| vehicle for purposes of acquiring information about the person and | 37 |
| to disclose information about the person that is acquired through | 38 |
| operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle. | 39 |
| (2) The employee determines that there is reasonable cause to | 40 |
| believe that an emergency situation exists in which there is an | 41 |
| immediate threat to the life or safety of a person, and, in order | 42 |
| to assist that person, operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle and | 43 |
| the reception and disclosure of information acquired through such | 44 |
| operation is necessary, subject to both of the following: | 45 |
| (a) A written request for the use of the unmanned aerial | 46 |
| vehicle is made to the applicable department or agency that | 47 |
| documents the factual basis for the emergency; | 48 |
| (b) Not later than forty-eight hours after the employee | 49 |
| begins operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle, an official with | 50 |
| supervisory authority or power over the employee files a sworn | 51 |
| statement with the court of common pleas that has jurisdiction | 52 |
| over the location of the person whose life or safety was | 53 |
| threatened, setting forth the grounds for the emergency use of the | 54 |
| unmanned aerial vehicle. | 55 |
| (3)(a) The employee determines that there is reasonable cause | 56 |
| to believe that an emergency situation exists that involves | 57 |
| conspiratorial activities that threaten the national security | 58 |
| interests of the United States or that are characteristic of | 59 |
| organized crime, and all of the following apply: | 60 |
| (i) Operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle is required | 61 |
| before a warrant or order authorizing such operation, with due | 62 |
| diligence, can be obtained; | 63 |
| (ii) There are grounds upon which such a warrant or order | 64 |
| could be issued to authorize such operation; | 65 |
| (iii) An application for a warrant or order approving such | 66 |
| operation is made in the appropriate court of common pleas within | 67 |
| forty-eight hours after operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle | 68 |
| has occurred or begins to occur. | 69 |
| (b) In the absence of a warrant or order described in | 70 |
| division (A)(3)(a)(iii) of this section, operation of an unmanned | 71 |
| aerial vehicle carried out under division (A)(3) of this section | 72 |
| shall terminate immediately upon obtaining the information | 73 |
| concerning the emergency situation or upon the denial of the | 74 |
| application for a warrant or order, whichever is earlier. | 75 |
| (c) If an application for a warrant or order described in | 76 |
| division (A)(3)(a)(iii) of this section is denied, all information | 77 |
| obtained from the operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle under | 78 |
| division (A)(3) of this section shall be deemed as having been | 79 |
| obtained in violation of sections 4561.51 to 4561.58 of the | 80 |
| Revised Code. Notice of such denial and the status of the | 81 |
| information shall be served on the person named in the application | 82 |
| for the warrant or order who is the target of the unmanned aerial | 83 |
| vehicle. | 84 |
| (4) The unmanned aerial vehicle is operated in order to | 85 |
| collect information from private property pursuant to a warrant | 86 |
| issued by the court of common pleas that has jurisdiction over the | 87 |
| property. | 88 |
| (5) The unmanned aerial vehicle is operated in order to | 89 |
| collect information from public property; provided, that in such a | 90 |
| circumstance the operation shall be conducted pursuant to a | 91 |
| warrant or order issued by the court of common pleas that has | 92 |
| jurisdiction over the subject area. The court shall issue the | 93 |
| warrant or order only if the employee offers to the court specific | 94 |
| and articulable facts that demonstrate reasonable suspicion of | 95 |
| criminal activity, that the operation of the public unmanned | 96 |
| aircraft system will uncover such activity, and that alternative | 97 |
| methods of data collection are either cost-prohibitive or present | 98 |
| a significant risk of bodily harm to any person. No order issued | 99 |
| under division (A)(5) of this section shall be issued for a period | 100 |
| greater than forty-eight hours. The court may grant extensions of | 101 |
| the order, but in no case shall an extension be longer than the | 102 |
| issuing judge determines necessary to achieve the purposes for | 103 |
| which it was granted. No extension shall be granted for more than | 104 |
| thirty days. | 105 |
| (6) The unmanned aerial vehicle is being used to collect | 106 |
| information and none of the information acquired through the | 107 |
| operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle and no evidence derived | 108 |
| from such operation is to be received in evidence in any trial, | 109 |
| hearing, or other proceeding in or before any court, grand jury, | 110 |
| department, officer, agency, regulatory body, legislative | 111 |
| committee, or other authority of this state or a political | 112 |
| subdivision of this state, or is to be used for any intelligence | 113 |
| purpose. | 114 |
| (B) When an unmanned aerial vehicle is used in any of the | 115 |
| circumstances described in division (A) of this section, it shall | 116 |
| be operated in a manner to collect data only on the person who is | 117 |
| the target of the unmanned aerial vehicle and shall avoid data | 118 |
| collection on individuals, homes, or areas other than the target. | 119 |
| (C) No data collected through operation of an unmanned aerial | 120 |
| vehicle on an individual, home, or area other than the target | 121 |
| person who justified deployment of the vehicle shall be used, | 122 |
| copied, or disclosed for any purpose. Such data shall be deleted | 123 |
| and overwritten as soon as possible, and in no event later than | 124 |
| twenty-four hours after collection. Neither facial recognition nor | 125 |
| other biometric matching technology shall be used on nontarget | 126 |
| data collected by an unmanned aerial vehicle. | 127 |
| Sec. 4561.55. When an employee operates an unmanned aerial | 128 |
| vehicle, none of the information acquired from such operation and | 129 |
| no evidence derived from such operation shall be received in | 130 |
| evidence in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding in or before | 131 |
| any court, grand jury, department, officer, agency, regulatory | 132 |
| body, legislative committee, or other authority of this state or a | 133 |
| political subdivision if the information is obtained in violation | 134 |
| of sections 4561.51 to 4561.58 of the Revised Code or the | 135 |
| disclosure of that information would be in violation of sections | 136 |
| 4561.51 to 4561.58 of the Revised Code. | 137 |
| Sec. 4561.56. No unmanned aerial vehicle shall be equipped | 138 |
| with any weapon of any kind. | 139 |
| Sec. 4561.57. (A) Any person who is injured in any manner | 140 |
| due to a violation of sections 4561.51 to 4561.56 of the Revised | 141 |
| Code may file an action with the appropriate court of common | 142 |
| pleas. | 143 |
| (B) If a court or department or agency of this state | 144 |
| determines that an employee of this state has violated any | 145 |
| provision of sections 4561.51 to 4561.56 of the Revised Code and | 146 |
| the court or department or agency finds that the employee acted | 147 |
| willfully or intentionally with respect to the violation, the | 148 |
| department or agency, upon receipt of a true and correct copy of | 149 |
| the decision and findings of the court or upon a written | 150 |
| determination of such decision and findings by the department or | 151 |
| agency, shall initiate promptly a proceeding to determine whether | 152 |
| disciplinary action against the employee by the department or | 153 |
| agency is warranted. The head of the department or agency that | 154 |
| employs the employee shall determine whether or not disciplinary | 155 |
| action is warranted, and upon such determination shall notify the | 156 |
| inspector general and provide the inspector general with the | 157 |
| reasons for such determination. | 158 |
| Sec. 4561.58. (A) Not later than the last day of June of | 159 |
| each year, any department or agency of this state or of any | 160 |
| political subdivision that operated or had operated on its behalf | 161 |
| an unmanned aerial vehicle during the immediately preceding twelve | 162 |
| months shall report to the general assembly, and make public on | 163 |
| its web site, all of the following information: | 164 |
| (1) The number of times an unmanned aerial vehicle was used, | 165 |
| organized by the types of incidents and the types of justification | 166 |
| for deployment; | 167 |
| (2) The number of criminal investigations that were aided by | 168 |
| the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, including a description of | 169 |
| how the unmanned aerial vehicle was of assistance to each | 170 |
| investigation; | 171 |
| (3) The number of times unmanned aerial vehicles were used | 172 |
| for reasons other than criminal investigations, including a | 173 |
| description of how the unmanned aerial vehicle was of assistance | 174 |
| in each instance; | 175 |
| (4) The frequency and type of data collected on individuals | 176 |
| or areas other than targets; | 177 |
| (5) The total cost to the department, agency, or political | 178 |
| subdivision of its unmanned aerial vehicle program. | 179 |
| (B) Not later than the last day of January of each year, any | 180 |
| judge who issued an order or an extension of an order under | 181 |
| sections 4561.51 to 4561.58 of the Revised Code that expired | 182 |
| during the preceding calendar year, or who denied issuance of such | 183 |
| an order or extension during that year, shall submit to the | 184 |
| attorney general a report that contains all of the following: | 185 |
| (1) The fact that an order or extension was applied for; | 186 |
| (2) The kind of order or extension that was applied for; | 187 |
| (3) The fact that the order or extension was granted as | 188 |
| applied for, was modified, or was denied; | 189 |
| (4) The period of unmanned aerial vehicle use authorized by | 190 |
| the order, and the number and duration of any extensions of the | 191 |
| order that were issued; | 192 |
| (5) The offense specified in the order or application, or | 193 |
| extension of an order; | 194 |
| (6) The name of the employee who made the application and the | 195 |
| name of the person who authorized the application. | 196 |
| (C)(1) Not later than the last day of June of each year, the | 197 |
| attorney general shall compile a report that contains all of the | 198 |
| following: | 199 |
| (a) The information described in divisions (B)(1) to (6) of | 200 |
| this section with respect to each application for an order or | 201 |
| extension made during the preceding calendar year; | 202 |
| (b) A general description of the information gathered under | 203 |
| such orders or extensions, including all of the following: | 204 |
| (i) The approximate nature and frequency of incriminating | 205 |
| conduct gathered; | 206 |
| (ii) The approximate number of persons upon whom information | 207 |
| was gathered; | 208 |
| (iii) The approximate nature, amount, and cost of the | 209 |
| manpower and other resources used in the collection. | 210 |
| (c) The number of arrests resulting from information gathered | 211 |
| and the offenses for which arrests were made; | 212 |
| (d) The number of trials resulting from such information; | 213 |
| (e) The number of motions to suppress made with respect to | 214 |
| such information, and the number granted or denied; | 215 |
| (f) The number of convictions resulting from such information | 216 |
| and the offenses for which the convictions were obtained; | 217 |
| (g) A general assessment of the importance of the | 218 |
| information; | 219 |
| (h) A summary and analysis of the data described in divisions | 220 |
| (B)(1) to (6) and (C)(1)(a) to (g) of this section. | 221 |
| (2) Not later than the last day of June of each year, the | 222 |
| attorney general shall transmit to the general assembly and post | 223 |
| on the web site of the attorney general the report described in | 224 |
| division (C)(1) of this section. | 225 |