Sponsors (4)
The bill gives SLTT and correctional agencies clearer authority, funding, and standards to use UAS and counter‑UAS tools—improving public‑safety response and drone threat mitigation—but it expands surveillance and enforcement powers, raises safety, cost, and due‑process risks unless paired with strong privacy, oversight, and aviation safeguards.
State, local, Tribal, and territorial (SLTT) law‑enforcement and correctional agencies gain explicit legal authority and a standardized process to detect, intercept, and mitigate dangerous or malicious drones, reducing legal uncertainty and enabling faster local response.
Local and state public‑safety agencies can obtain federal grants to buy and operate UAS for search‑and‑rescue, incident response, disaster assessment, and routine public‑safety missions, improving situational awareness and emergency response.
Agencies can receive grant support and access to DHS‑approved counter‑UAS technologies to detect and mitigate hostile or unlawful drones that threaten large events, critical infrastructure, or responders.
Residents and communities face expanded government surveillance and privacy intrusions as more police and public‑safety agencies obtain UAS and counter‑UAS capabilities and remote‑ID data, increasing monitoring of lawful operators and communities.
Use of electronic countermeasures and expanded authority to disable, seize, or destroy drones risks aviation safety, radio/communications interference, and collateral damage to nearby aircraft, property, or people if authorizations are misapplied.
Owners, hobbyists, and operators risk forfeiture, large civil fines, and increased criminal penalties (including doubled maxima), which raises due‑process concerns, potential disproportionate sentencing, and liability exposure for authorized entities acting without perfect coordination.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Expands DHS/AG and trained SLTT authority to counter drones, authorizes grants for UAS/approved counter‑UAS tech, raises penalties, and requires regs and training.
Official title: Expand the authority to use counter-unmanned aircraft system technologies to State, local, Tribal, and territorial law enforcement and correctional agencies, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 15, 2025 by Gary C. Peters · Last progress December 15, 2025
Gives the Department of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and trained State, local, Tribal, and territorial (SLTT) law enforcement and correctional agencies clearer statutory authority to take actions against unmanned aircraft (drones) that present credible threats. It authorizes certain grant programs to buy and operate UAS and a limited set of approved counter‑UAS technologies, raises criminal penalties for repeated or weaponized misuse of drones, creates civil fines for unauthorized counter‑UAS actions, and requires regulations, training standards, and interagency coordination within set deadlines.