Senate Bill 2485

(COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)

AN ACT TO REGULATE USE OF DRONES NEAR AND ABOVE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES; TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS; TO PROHIBIT ANY PERSON FROM USING A DRONE TO INTRODUCE CONTRABAND INTO OR ON THE GROUNDS OF A CORRECTIONAL FACILITY; TO ENACT EXCEPTIONS; TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and referred to as the "Drone Prohibition Near or Above State and Private Correctional Facilities Act."

SECTION 2. For purposes of this act, the following words shall have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context requires otherwise:

(a) "Airspace" means the space above the ground on which a state correctional institution or private correctional facility, including community work centers and technical violation centers, is sited.

(b) "Drone" means any unmanned airborne device that is operated without an individual in or on the device.

(c) "Contraband" means coin or currency, money orders, traveler's checks, promissory notes, credit cards, personal checks or other negotiable instruments, knives, sharpened instruments, tools, explosives, ammunition and drug paraphernalia.

(d) "Image" means any capturing or sound waves, thermal, infrared, ultraviolet, visible light, or other electromagnetic waves, odor, or other conditions existing on or about real property in this state or an individual located on that property.

(e) "Person" means any individual, corporation, organization, and for-profit or not-for-profit entities.

(f) "Private correctional facility" means the following private prisons: East Mississippi Correctional Facility, Marshall County Correctional Facility, Walnut Grove Correctional Facility, and Wilkinson County Correctional Center.

(g) "State correctional facility" means any regional correctional facility and the following state institutions: Mississippi State Penitentiary, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and South Mississippi Correctional Institution.

(h) "Unmanned aircraft" means an aircraft that is operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft.

SECTION 3. (1) It is unlawful for a person to operate a drone within one hundred (100) yards of the boundaries of a state correctional institution, private correctional facility, community work center or technical violation center with the intent to capture unauthorized images or videos.

(2) It is unlawful for a person to operate a drone within one hundred (100) yards of the boundaries of a state correctional institution, private correctional facility, community work center or technical violation center with the intent to introduce contraband or prohibited items.

SECTION 4. The provisions of this act do not apply to:

(a) A person who is conducting professional or scholarly research and development and acting on behalf of an institution of higher learning, if the person is a professor, employee or student of the institution or under contract with or otherwise acting under the direction of or on behalf of the institution;

(b) A drone that is in the airspace designated as a test site or range authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration for the purpose of integrating unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace;

(d) An image that is captured by a satellite for the purposes of mapping;

(e) An image captured by or for an electric or natural gas utility:

(i) For operations and maintenance of utility facilities for the purpose of maintaining utility system reliability and integrity;

(ii) For inspecting utility facilities to determine repair, maintenance or replacement needs during and after construction of such facilities;

(iii) For assessing vegetation growth for the purpose of maintaining clearances on utility easements;

(iv) For utility facility routing and siting for purpose of providing utility service;

(f) To drone operations conducted:

(i) With the consent of the Mississippi Department of Corrections; or

(ii) By authorized law enforcement officers for law enforcement purposes;

(g) An image captured by state or local law enforcement authorities, or a person who is under contract with or otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of state authorities, for purposes of:

(i) Surveying the scene of a catastrophe or other damage to determine whether a state of emergency should be declared;

(ii) Preserving public safety, protecting property, or surveying damage or contamination during a lawfully declared state of emergency; or

(iii) Conducting routine air quality sampling and monitoring, as provided by state or local law;

(iv) Assessing conditions at the scene of a spill, or a suspected spill, of hazardous materials;

(v) Fire suppression;

(vi) Rescuing a person whose life or well-being is in imminent danger;

(h) An image captured by a Mississippi licensed real estate broker in connection with the marketing, sale or financing of real property, if no individual person is identifiable in the image;

(i) Images of public real property or a person on public real property;

(j) An image captured by the owner or operator of an oil, gas, water or other pipeline for the purpose of inspecting, maintaining or repairing pipelines or other related facilities, if it is captured without the intent to conduct surveillance on an individual or real property located in this state;

(k) Images made in connection with oil and gas pipeline and well safety and protection;

(l) An image made in connection with port authority surveillance and security; or

(m) An image captured by a state or local government agency, or by a person who is under contract with or otherwise acting under the direction or on behalf of the agency which not be used for any purpose other than the lawful purpose for which the image was captured as permitted by this section.

SECTION 5. A law enforcement officer investigating an alleged violation of this act shall seize and transfer to the Department of Corrections any photograph, motion picture, other visual representation or data that represents a visual image that was created or recorded by a drone during an alleged violation of this act.

SECTION 6. A law enforcement officer investigating an alleged violation of this act shall seize and transfer to the Department of Corrections any contraband or prohibited items as defined in Section 47-5-193.

SECTION 7. (1) A person who violates the provisions of Section 3(1) of this act is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by confinement in the county jail for not more than one (1) year, by a fine of not more than One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00), or both.

(2) Each image captured in violation of Section 3(1) of this act is a separate offense.

(3) A person who violates the provisions of Section 3(2) of this act is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by confinement in the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than three (3) years nor more than fifteen (15) years, by a fine of not more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), or both.

SECTION 8. The provisions of this act apply unless preempted by applicable federal law or by regulations adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration.

SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2016.