AN ACT to amend and reenact sections 29-29.4-01, 29-29.4-02, 29-29.4-03, 29-29.4-04, 29-29.4-05, and 29-29.4-06 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to law enforcement use of a robot.
HB 1613 revises North Dakota’s laws governing law enforcement use of unmanned aerial vehicles and robots. It expands and clarifies definitions for terms such as “robot,” “autonomously,” “remotely,” “flight data,” and “flight information,” and it expressly excludes certain routine law enforcement cameras and readers from the definition of robot. The bill also tightens the rules for when information gathered by drones or robots may be used in court, generally limiting admissibility and use in probable-cause affidavits unless the data was obtained under a warrant, under a warrant exception, or in limited border-monitoring circumstances.
The bill adds detailed warrant requirements for surveillance uses, including a data-collection statement describing who may authorize the deployment, where the device may operate, how long it may operate, what information may be collected, and how that information will be retained, disclosed, or destroyed. It also preserves several exceptions, including border patrol, exigent circumstances, environmental or weather-related catastrophes, and research, education, training, testing, and development activities involving schools or higher education institutions and collaborators.
HB 1613 further restricts weaponized use of robots and drones. It prohibits law enforcement from authorizing drones armed with lethal weapons, bars private surveillance use without informed consent, and limits surveillance of lawful constitutional activity. The bill allows a robot to deploy a lethal weapon only in narrow, remotely controlled circumstances involving an inanimate explosive threat or an imminent serious threat where lethal force by an officer would otherwise be lawful. Less-than-lethal weapons may also be deployed only if remotely controlled and not autonomously activated.
The bill’s impact on state law is to create a more detailed regulatory framework for police use of robotic and aerial surveillance technology, with stronger privacy, documentation, retention, and use-of-force safeguards. It also imposes recordkeeping duties, including documentation of flight duration, path, and mission objectives, retention of flight information for five years, and limits on retaining unrelated imagery or data for more than 90 days. It additionally makes certain documentation available through criminal discovery or open records procedures.
The overall sentiment appears strongly favorable and largely noncontroversial. The bill passed the House and Senate unanimously, with no recorded dissenting votes, suggesting broad bipartisan support for regulating emerging law-enforcement technology while preserving operational exceptions for emergencies, border security, and research. No committee transcript was provided, and the voting record shows no evident opposition or major floor debate.
HB 1613 amends North Dakota Century Code chapter 29-29.4 to regulate law enforcement use of robots and unmanned aerial vehicle systems. It changes statutory definitions, limits admissibility and investigative use of data collected by drones or robots, requires more specific warrant content for surveillance deployments, establishes documentation and retention rules, and restricts weaponized deployment by law enforcement. The bill also preserves enumerated exceptions for border patrol, exigent circumstances, disasters, and research or training activities, while adding disclosure and discovery provisions for certain records.
The bill appears to have been received positively across both chambers. It passed the House 91-0 and the Senate 46-0, indicating unanimous support and no recorded partisan or procedural resistance. The lack of committee transcripts or recorded negative votes suggests the measure was viewed as a technical but important privacy-and-public-safety regulation rather than a controversial policy shift.
No formal contention is evident in the available record. The main policy issues embedded in the bill are the balance between law enforcement surveillance authority and privacy protections, and the limits on weaponized robots and drones. If any concerns existed, they would likely have centered on the scope of exceptions for border patrol, emergencies, and research, as well as the narrow circumstances under which lethal force may be deployed remotely; however, the unanimous votes suggest those issues did not generate significant opposition.