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Minnesota lawmakers want support from police for a proposal to regulate drones that they plan to reintroduce next year.

A House-Senate panel on data practices held a hearing Wednesday on the proposed regulations, which include a requirement for law enforcement agencies to obtain search warrants to operate unmanned aerial vehicles in nonemergency situations. A modified version of the bill that failed to pass last session is expected in 2020.

“Hopefully we can improve this bill, polish it up a little bit and move forward,” said Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, who chaired the meeting. Representatives of state and local law enforcement agencies provided testimony.

Dakota County Sheriff Tim Leslie told lawmakers that his department has been operating drones for two years, including 42 times this year. Leslie said the county already has tight guidelines in place for drone use.

“It’s narrow in scope, and every time we use it, the sheriff citizen advisory council, every quarter, examines all of our use,” Leslie said.

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Julia Decker, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, stressed that drone rules are needed to protect privacy.

“Drones are new and powerful tools,” Decker said. “In working with law enforcement to craft exceptions in this bill, we’ve acknowledged the real-world benefits of drone usage. However, drones are also unique in the potential for secret surveillance.”

Existing warrant requirements already apply to drone use, said Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Privacy concerns could be better addressed through changes in the way data gathered via drones is classified, he said.

“What becomes very complicated for us in law enforcement across the board is when we regulate technology by technology’” Evans said.

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Tim Pugmire

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