Bipartisan bills to regulate drone usage in Michigan received a state House committee hearing Tuesday.
The bills would designate some areas, like government buildings, power plants, and stadiums as “no drone zones.”
They would give local law enforcement the power to take trespassing drones down, rather than wait on the federal government.
Republican state Representative Will Bruck says, without that power, federal policies go ignored. He says that puts Michigan at risk of a weaponized drone attack:
“I’m not trying to do scare tactics, I’m just stating facts. There is no protections for malicious drones in our state.”
The drone industry supports some of the bills but says they need to better account for hobby users who might be unaware of restrictions.
The bills could see some changes before being eventually advanced from out of the committee.
