10/09/2025

House Bill 251

Lead Sponsors: Representative Bernard Willis

Status: Fourth hearing in House Transportation (October 7, 2025)

Description: The bill aligns search warrant requirements for collecting surveillance data using a UAV with those needed for a warrant to enter the house or place to conduct a search, including prohibiting data gained from a warrantless search by UAV from being admitted as evidence.

Circumstances that do not require a warrant include patrolling within 50 miles of an international border, when examining the scene of a vehicle accident, or for patrols before, during, and after environmental or weather disasters.

Law enforcement agencies are prohibited from utilizing UAVs armed with lethal weapons.

The bill also provides definitions for seaplane bases, heliports, vertiports, and spaceports, and incorporates these facilities into existing Aeronautics Law.

CCAO Position: No position (as of October 2025)