Unmanned aircraft systems; prohibiting use over certain property. Effective date.
SB1072 creates new Oklahoma crimes and civil remedies related to unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, flying over private rural property. The bill defines key terms such as “homestead,” “secure farmstead area,” “intrusion,” and “surveillance device,” and then prohibits a person from knowingly flying a drone over another person’s homestead or secure farmstead area when the drone remains over that property. It also separately prohibits flying a drone equipped with a surveillance device over those same areas. Violations are punishable as misdemeanors, with higher penalties for repeat offenses and for repeat surveillance violations.
In addition to criminal penalties, the bill allows owners or lessees of a homestead or secure farmstead area to petition district court for a temporary injunction against drone surveillance harassment. Courts may award costs, attorney fees, and investigation-related expenses, and may order destruction of images, sounds, or data obtained in violation of the act, subject to limited ownership-interest exceptions for identifiable individuals, livestock owners, or owners of uniquely identifiable land or improvements. The bill also exempts consent-based flights, FAA-compliant commercial or agricultural operations, government operations, public utilities, railroads, road-rights activities, and the owner or lessee of the property itself, and directs the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry to adopt implementing rules.
SB1072 would add new provisions to Title 2 of the Oklahoma Statutes governing drone use over rural residential and agricultural property, specifically creating Sections 4-50 through 4-50.4. It would establish criminal offenses for intrusion and surveillance by unmanned aircraft systems, authorize injunctive relief and related damages/costs in district court, and require destruction of unlawfully obtained recordings in many cases. The bill primarily affects drone operators, rural homeowners, and agricultural landowners, while preserving exceptions for FAA-regulated commercial and agricultural uses and certain government and utility operations.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes, the apparent sentiment is protective of private property and agricultural privacy, with a focus on limiting unwanted drone activity over rural homes and farm operations. The measure appears designed to respond to concerns about harassment, surveillance, and trespass-like drone use, while still allowing legitimate commercial, governmental, and property-owner uses. No formal opposition or support is documented in the provided materials, so any controversy is inferred from the balance the bill strikes between privacy rights and drone-use exemptions.
The main points of contention likely involve privacy versus lawful drone operations. Property owners and agricultural interests would favor the bill’s protections against drone surveillance and repeated overflights, while drone operators, commercial users, and some agricultural users may be concerned about the breadth of the prohibitions and the risk of criminal liability. Another likely issue is the scope of the exemptions, especially for FAA-compliant commercial/agricultural flights, government activity, utilities, railroads, and road-rights operations, as well as the bill’s treatment of recordings and ownership interests in images, sounds, or data captured in violation of the act.