1     
LAW ENFORCEMENT USE OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT

2     
2022 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Ryan D. Wilcox

5     
Senate Sponsor: Curtis S. Bramble

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7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill amends provisions related to the use of an unmanned aircraft system in
10     conjunction with an imaging surveillance device.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     amends provisions related to allowable law enforcement use of an unmanned
14     aircraft system to apply to the use of an imaging surveillance device in conjunction
15     with an unmanned aircraft system.
16     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
17          None
18     Other Special Clauses:
19          None
20     Utah Code Sections Affected:
21     AMENDS:
22          72-14-203, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 364
23     

24     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
25          Section 1. Section 72-14-203 is amended to read:
26          72-14-203. Unmanned aircraft system use requirements -- Exceptions.
27          (1) A law enforcement agency or officer may not obtain, receive, or use data acquired
28     through an unmanned aircraft system unless the data is obtained:
29          (a) pursuant to a search warrant;

30          (b) in accordance with judicially recognized exceptions to warrant requirements;
31          (c) subject to Subsection (2), from a person who is a nongovernment actor;
32          (d) to locate a lost or missing person in an area in which a person has no reasonable
33     expectation of privacy; or
34          (e) for purposes unrelated to a criminal investigation.
35          (2) A law enforcement officer or agency may only use for law enforcement purposes
36     data obtained from a nongovernment actor if:
37          (a) the data appears to pertain to the commission of a crime; or
38          (b) the law enforcement agency or officer believes, in good faith, that:
39          (i) the data pertains to an imminent or ongoing emergency involving danger of death or
40     serious bodily injury to an individual; and
41          (ii) disclosing the data would assist in remedying the emergency.
42          (3) A law enforcement agency or officer that obtains, receives, or uses data acquired
43     through the use of an unmanned aircraft system or through Subsection (2) shall destroy the data
44     as soon as reasonably possible after the law enforcement agency or officer obtains, receives, or
45     uses the data subject to an applicable retention schedule under Title 63G, Chapter 2,
46     Government Records Access and Management Act, or a federal, state, or local law.
47          (4) This section applies to any imaging surveillance device, as defined in Section
48     77-23d-102, when used in conjunction with an unmanned aircraft system.