Drone Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2944 To prevent the misuse of drones, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 27, 2023 Mr. GALLAGHER (for himself, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mr. GOODEN of Texas, and Ms. TITUS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary A BILL To prevent the misuse of drones, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drone Act of 2023’’. 4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 5 Congress finds that— 6 (1) drone technology has the potential to revo- 7 lutionize commerce, military operations, law enforce- 8 ment, and various industries, as well as recreation in 9 general; 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2944.IH H2944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2944 IH (2) drone technology also presents a potential 1 danger to public safety and national security; 2 (3) drone technology is increasingly being used 3 by drug trafficking and human trafficking organiza- 4 tions at the southern border— 5 (A) to assist in smuggling into the United 6 States high-value items; 7 (B) for conducting reconnaissance; and 8 (C) even as offensive weapons against com- 9 peting criminal organizations; 10 (4) drone technology has been used to deliver 11 into Federal correctional centers contraband such as 12 cell phones, wire cutters, screwdrivers, and hack- 13 saws; 14 (5) there were 875 drone sightings in restricted 15 airport airspace in 2020, and 766 such sightings in 16 the first half of 2021, including 36 such sightings in 17 the vicinities of runways; and 18 (6) while existing Federal law includes some 19 criminal provisions relating to misuse of drones, 20 those provisions are fragmentary in nature and 21 therefore fail to restrain and deter the most serious 22 drone-related crimes. 23 SEC. 3. DRONE OFFENSES. 24 Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2944.IH H2944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2944 IH (1) in section 39B(a)— 1 (A) in paragraph (1)— 2 (i) by striking ‘‘operation of, an air- 3 craft’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘oper- 4 ation of— 5 ‘‘(A) an aircraft’’; 6 (ii) by striking the period at the end 7 and inserting a semicolon; and 8 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(B) a vessel of the United States, or a 11 vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United 12 States, as those terms are defined in section 13 70502 of title 46, carrying 1 or more occu- 14 pants, in a manner that poses an imminent 15 safety hazard to such occupants, shall be pun- 16 ished as provided in subsection (c); 17 ‘‘(C) a motor vehicle that is used, oper- 18 ated, or employed in interstate or foreign com- 19 merce and is carrying 1 or more occupants, in 20 a manner that poses an imminent safety hazard 21 to such occupants, shall be punished as pro- 22 vided in subsection (c); or 23 ‘‘(D) a vehicle used or designed for flight 24 or navigation in space described in section 7(6), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2944.IH H2944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2944 IH shall be punished as provided in subsection 1 (c).’’; and 2 (B) in paragraph (2)— 3 (i) by striking ‘‘operation of, an air- 4 craft’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘oper- 5 ation of— 6 ‘‘(A) an aircraft’’; 7 (ii) by striking the period at the end 8 and inserting a semicolon; and 9 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(B) a vessel of the United States, or a 12 vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United 13 States, as those terms are defined in section 14 70502 of title 46, carrying 1 or more occu- 15 pants, in a manner that poses an imminent 16 safety hazard to such occupants, shall be pun- 17 ished as provided in subsection (c); 18 ‘‘(C) a motor vehicle that is used, oper- 19 ated, or employed in interstate or foreign com- 20 merce and is carrying 1 or more occupants, in 21 a manner that poses an imminent safety hazard 22 to such occupants, shall be punished as pro- 23 vided in subsection (c); or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2944.IH H2944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2944 IH ‘‘(D) a vehicle used or designed for flight 1 or navigation in space described in section 7(6), 2 shall be punished as provided in subsection 3 (c).’’; 4 (2) in section 40A— 5 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘Oper- 6 ation of unauthorized unmanned air- 7 craft over wildfires’’ and inserting ‘‘In- 8 terference by unauthorized un- 9 manned aircraft with law enforce- 10 ment, emergency response, and mili- 11 tary activities’’; and 12 (B) in subsection (a)— 13 (i) by striking ‘‘operates an unmanned 14 aircraft and knowingly or recklessly’’ and 15 inserting the following: ‘‘operates an un- 16 manned aircraft and— 17 ‘‘(1) knowingly or recklessly’’; 18 (ii) by striking the period at the end 19 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 20 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 21 lowing: 22 ‘‘(2) knowingly or recklessly interferes with a 23 law enforcement, emergency response, or military 24 operation or activity of a unit or agency of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2944.IH H2944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2944 IH United States Government or of a State, tribal, or 1 local government (other than a wildfire suppression 2 or law enforcement or emergency response efforts re- 3 lated to a wildfire suppression) shall be fined under 4 this title, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or 5 both.’’; 6 (3) by inserting after section 40A the following: 7 ‘‘§ 40B. Misuse of unmanned aircraft 8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 9 ‘‘(1) the term ‘aircraft’, notwithstanding section 10 31(a)(1), means any device, craft, vehicle, or contriv- 11 ance that is— 12 ‘‘(A) invented, used, or designed to navi- 13 gate, fly, or travel in the air; or 14 ‘‘(B) used or intended to be used for flight 15 in the air; 16 ‘‘(2) the term ‘airport’ has the meaning given 17 the term in section 40102(a)(9) of title 49; 18 ‘‘(3) the term ‘contraband’ has the meaning 19 given the term in section 80302(a) of title 49; 20 ‘‘(4) the term ‘dangerous weapon’ has the 21 meaning given the term in section 930; 22 ‘‘(5) the term ‘explosive’ means any thing with- 23 in the scope of the definition of ‘explosive materials’ 24 in section 841; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2944.IH H2944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2944 IH ‘‘(6) the term ‘firearm’ has the meaning given 1 the term in section 921; 2 ‘‘(7) the term ‘Federal law’ includes any form 3 of Federal law, including any Federal statute, rule, 4 regulation, or order; 5 ‘‘(8) the term ‘personnel of the United States’ 6 means any Federal officer, employee, or contractor, 7 or any person assisting such an officer, employee, or 8 contractor in the performance of duties; 9 ‘‘(9) the terms ‘prison’ and ‘prohibited object’ 10 have the meanings given those terms in section 11 1791; 12 ‘‘(10) the term ‘restricted electromagnetic 13 weapon’ means any type of device, instrument, tech- 14 nology, or contrivance that— 15 ‘‘(A) can generate or emit electromagnetic 16 radiation or fields that are capable of jamming, 17 disrupting, degrading, damaging, or interfering 18 with the operation of any technological or elec- 19 tronic asset, system, network, or infrastructure, 20 or any component or subcomponent thereof; 21 and 22 ‘‘(B) is classified as a restricted electro- 23 magnetic weapon by the Attorney General, in 24 consultation with the Secretary of Defense; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2944.IH H2944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2944 IH ‘‘(11) the term ‘serious bodily injury’ has the 1 meaning given the term in section 1365; 2 ‘‘(12) the term ‘United States corporation or 3 legal entity’ means any corporation or other entity 4 organized under the laws of the United States or 5 any State; 6 ‘‘(13) the term ‘unmanned aircraft’ has the 7 meaning given the term in section 44801 of title 49; 8 ‘‘(14) the term ‘vessel’ means any craft or con- 9 trivance used, capable of being used, or designed to 10 be used for transportation in, on, or through water; 11 and 12 ‘‘(15) the term ‘weapon of mass destruction’ 13 has the meaning given the term in section 2332a. 14 ‘‘(b) OFFENSES.— 15 ‘‘(1) WEAPONIZATION.—It shall be unlawful, in 16 a circumstance described in subsection (c), to know- 17 ingly— 18 ‘‘(A) equip or arm an unmanned aircraft 19 with a firearm, explosive, dangerous weapon, re- 20 stricted electromagnetic weapon, or weapon of 21 mass destruction; 22 ‘‘(B) possess, receive, transfer, operate, or 23 produce an unmanned aircraft that is equipped 24 or armed with a firearm, explosive, dangerous 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2944.IH H2944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2944 IH weapon, restricted electromagnetic weapon, or 1 weapon of mass destruction; 2 ‘‘(C) discharge or deploy a firearm, explo- 3 sive, dangerous weapon, restricted electro- 4 magnetic weapon, or weapon of mass destruc- 5 tion using an unmanned aircraft; or 6 ‘‘(D) use an unmanned aircraft to cause— 7 ‘‘(i) serious bodily injury or death to 8 a person; or 9 ‘‘(ii) damage to property in an 10 amount that exceeds $5,000. 11 ‘‘(2) OPERATION OF DRONE TO COMMIT FEL- 12 ONY.—It shall be unlawful to knowingly operate an 13 unmanned aircraft in furtherance of the commission 14 of a crime punishable by death or imprisonment of 15 more than 1 year under a law of the United States 16 or a State, if Federal law requires that the aircraft 17 be registered and the aircraft is not registered. 18 ‘‘(3) IMPAIRMENT OF IDENTIFICATION OR 19 LIGHTING.—It shall be unlawful to, in violation of 20 Federal law, knowingly and willfully— 21 ‘‘(A) remove, obliterate, tamper with, or 22 alter the identification number of the unmanned 23 aircraft; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2944.IH H2944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2944 IH ‘‘(B) disable or fail to effect any required 1 identification transmission or signaling of the 2 unmanned aircraft; or 3 ‘‘(C) disable or obscure any required anti- 4 collision lighting of the unmanned aircraft or 5 fail to have or illuminate such lighting as re- 6 quired. 7 ‘‘(4) INTRUSION ON PROTECTED SPACES.—It 8 shall be unlawful for any person, knowing that the 9 conduct of the person is unlawful, to— 10 ‘‘(A) operate an unmanned aircraft in any 11 airspace, or cause the takeoff or landing of an 12 unmanned aircraft in any place, in violation of 13 Federal law, including all applicable rules, regu- 14 lations, and orders of the Federal Aviation Ad- 15 ministration and the Department of Homeland 16 Security; or 17 ‘‘(B) operate an unmanned aircraft across 18 a border of the United States or its territories 19 or possessions without complying with the re- 20 quirements of Federal law, including all appli- 21 cable rules, regulations, and orders of the Fed- 22 eral Aviation Administration and the Depart- 23 ment of Homeland Security. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2944.IH H2944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2944 IH ‘‘(5) TRANSPORTATION OF CONTRABAND.—It 1 shall be unlawful to knowingly use an unmanned air- 2 craft to— 3 ‘‘(A) transport contraband; or 4 ‘‘(B) introduce a prohibited object into a 5 prison. 6 ‘‘(c) CIRCUMSTANCES.—The circumstances described 7 in this subsection are that the offense— 8 ‘‘(1) is an offense under paragraph (2), (3), 9 (4), or (5) of subsection (b); 10 ‘‘(2) involves an unmanned aircraft, firearm, 11 explosive, dangerous weapon, restricted electro- 12 magnetic weapon, weapon of mass destruction, or 13 ammunition that has moved at any time in inter- 14 state or foreign commerce; 15 ‘‘(3) occurs in or affects interstate or foreign 16 commerce; 17 ‘‘(4) involves the movement of any person or 18 thing in, or use of any means or instrumentality of, 19 interstate or foreign commerce; 20 ‘‘(5) involves— 21 ‘‘(A) any use of the electromagnetic spec- 22 trum that is subject to the jurisdiction of the 23 Federal Communications Commission or the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2944.IH H2944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2944 IH National Telecommunications and Information 1 Administration; or 2 ‘‘(B) any aircraft or airspace use that is 3 subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Avia- 4 tion Administration; 5 ‘‘(6) is committed, whether within or outside of 6 the United States, against— 7 ‘‘(A) the United States or any department, 8 agency, property, activity, or personnel of the 9 United States; or 10 ‘‘(B) an aircraft in the special aircraft ju- 11 risdiction of the United States (as defined in 12 section 46501 of title 49); 13 ‘‘(7) is committed outside of the United States 14 against any United States national, United States 15 corporation or legal entity, aircraft registered under 16 United States law, or vessel of the United States or 17 vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States 18 (as those terms are defined in section 70502 of title 19 46); or 20 ‘‘(8) is committed in the special maritime and 21 territorial jurisdiction of the United States. 22 ‘‘(d) PENALTIES.—Any person who violates sub- 23 section (b)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:36 May 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2944.IH H2944 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2944 IH ‘‘(1) in the case of a violation of paragraph (2), 1 (3), or (4) of that subsection, shall be imprisoned for 2 not more than 5 years, fined under this title, or 3 both; 4 ‘‘(2) in the case of a violation of paragraph 5 (1)(A), (1)(B), (1)(C), or (5) of that subsection, 6 shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 years, 7 fined under this title, or both; 8 ‘‘(3) subject to paragraph (4) of this sub- 9 section, in the case of a violation of paragraph 10 (1)(D) of that subsection, shall be imprisoned for 11 not more than 20 years, fined under this title, or 12 both; and 13 ‘‘(4) in the case of a violation of any paragraph 14 of that [Text truncated for display. 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