Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Safety for Airports and Firefighters by Ensuring Drones Refrain from Obstructing Necessary Equipment Act of 2015” or the “SAFE DRONE Act of 2015”.
Safety for Airports and Firefighters by Ensuring Drones Refrain from Obstructing Necessary Equipment Act of 2015
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a criminal penalty for operating drones in certain locations, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Criminal penalty for operating drones in certain locations
In general— Chapter 2 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“40A. Operating drones in certain locations
“(a) Offense—Whoever knowingly operates a drone in a restricted area shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
“(b) Exception—Subsection (a) shall not apply to operations conducted for purposes of firefighting or emergency response by a Federal, State, or local unit of government (including any individual conducting such operations pursuant to a contract or other agreement entered into with the unit).
“(c) Definitions—In this section—
“(1) the term “drone” means an unmanned aircraft, as that term is defined in section 331 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note);
“(2) the term “restricted area” means—
“(A) within a 2-mile radius of a small hub airport, medium hub airport, or large hub airport;
“(B) within 2 miles of the outermost perimeter of an ongoing firefighting operation involving the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior; or
“(C) in an area that is subject to a temporary flight restriction issued by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration; and
“(3) the terms “small hub airport”, “medium hub airport”, and “large hub airport” have the meanings given those terms in section 47102 of title 49.”
Clerical amendment— The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 2 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item: