Nevada Senate committee OKs drone search bill
CARSON CITY — The Senate Transportation Committee passed a bill that would allow Nevada law enforcement officers to search crashed or abandoned unmanned aerial vehicles to identify their owners.
Senate Bill 234, sponsored by Sen. Scott Hammond, R-Las Vegas, would provide direction to law enforcement about how to deal with drones that have crashed, are grounded or disabled or that may have been used in a crime.
The bill would require a warrant to search a drone’s data if it was suspected to have been involved in a crime. But it would allow a warrantless search to identify an owner without suspicion of a crime.
The bill would also license and regulate drone storage facilities, similar to how abandoned or seized motor vehicles are stored. The measure now goes to the full Senate for a vote.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-0661. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.