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Pennsylvania Senate Grapples with Tech, Surveillance Issues Created by Drone Use

The key mover on the issue has sponsored legislation for a two-year moratorium on using government drones over private property with certain public safety exemptions.

(TNS) — The state Senate is grappling with the potential technological and surveillance issues created by use of unmanned drones by government agencies over private property.

The Senate Majority Policy Committee chaired by Sen. David Argall, R-29, Tamaqua, held a hearing last week to take testimony from state officials, prosecutors, civil liberties advocates and private entrepreneurs on this matter.

The Senate has already authorized a legislative study of drone — or unmanned aerial vehicle — activity by governments.

The key mover on the issue — Sen. Mike Folmer, R-48, Lebanon — has sponsored legislation for a two-year moratorium on using government drones over private property with exceptions for cases in which law enforcement obtains a warrant, National Guard or Defense Department training is involved, damage is being assessed from wildfires and floods or traffic situations, or for Amber Alerts and search and rescue missions.

“I believe there needs to be a balance between our Fourth Amendment rights (no unreasonable searches) and the use of so-called drones for government purposes — especially surveillance,” Mr. Folmer said.

Cumberland County District Attorney Dave Freed testified that drones could have been useful during the manhunt in the Poconos in the fall of 2014 for Eric Matthew Frein of Canadensis, who is suspected of killing Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II of Dunmore and wounding Trooper Alex Douglass in an ambush outside the Blooming Grove state police station in Pike County.

“There were close to 1,000 police officers looking for him each day, at a cost to the Pennsylvania taxpayers of more than $11 million in total,” Mr. Freed said. “It is hard to imagine a situation better suited for the type of technology we are discussing here today. Not only is it more efficient to search large areas using an unmanned aircraft, but it is also substantially safer.”

A state transportation official said his agency’s main concern is that drones don’t interfere with airports, medical evacuation missions, agricultural spraying and black fly spraying or similar operations.

“Drones pose a unique threat to privacy,” testified Jeramie Scott with the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a research group. “Small, unmanned drones are already inexpensive; the surveillance capabilities of drones are rapidly advancing.”

On the same topic, Rep. Gerald Mullery, D-119, Newport Twp., has a bill to prohibit individuals and organizations from using drones to interfere with hunting, fishing and boating activities.

Heritage areas

House lawmakers approved legislation last week giving formal legal standing to Pennsylvania’s heritage areas. The program is nearly two decades old but has faced challenges resulting from the loss of state funding in recent years. The bill now goes to the Senate.

The 12 heritage areas include Lackawanna Heritage Valley, the Route 6 Heritage Corridor, the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area, the Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area, the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor and the Endless Mountains Heritage Region in Northeast Pennsylvania.

©2016 The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.