Amends TCA Title 39.

This bill revises and adds to the present law provisions relating to the use of drones by law enforcement agencies. This bill expands the application of the provisions to include non-aerial devices, by including the following in the definition of "drone": permanently or temporarily mounted audio or video recording devices owned, leased, or maintained by a law enforcement agency, excluding devices that are owned, operated, or maintained by a law enforcement agency to monitor the interior of any buildings owned, operated, or maintained by law enforcement. The other revisions to present law are as follow: (1) Under present law, the use of a drone, or other substantially similar device, by a law enforcement agency to search for and collect evidence or obtain information or other data constitutes a search unless authorized by and used in compliance with this item (1) or item (2) below. A drone may be used for such purposes if: (A) Used in compliance and consistent with applicable federal aviation administration rules, exemptions, or other authorizations; and (B) The agency first obtains a search warrant signed by a judge authorizing the use of a drone or if a judicially recognized exception to the warrant requirement exists at the time of use. This bill revises the above provisions to: remove the exception for use of the drone without a warrant if a judicially recognized exception to the warrant requirement exists; specify, in regard to (A) above, that such use in compliance with federal law is only to the extent that such federal enactments regulate the operation of drones for other than law enforcement purposes; and add that the drone must at all times be identifiable with flashing blue strobes which are visible from the ground without aid of magnification lenses and emit a continuous warning siren that is audile from the ground without aid of the magnification hearing assistance. (2) Under present law, a drone, or other substantially similar device, may be used for the purposes described in item (1) above without a search warrant or recognized warrant exception if used in compliance and consistent with applicable federal aviation administration rules, exemptions, or other authorizations; and for one of the following purposes: (A) To counter a high risk of a terrorist attack by a specific individual or organization if the United States secretary of homeland security determines that credible intelligence indicates that there is such a risk; (B) To prevent imminent danger to life where there is reasonable suspicion that, under particular circumstances, immediate action is needed; (C) To provide continuous aerial coverage when law enforcement is searching for a fugitive or escapee or is monitoring a hostage situation; (D) To provide more expansive aerial coverage when deployed for the purpose of searching for a missing person; (E) To investigate motor vehicle accidents that occur within the traffic right-of-way or an area open to the public; (F) Where a criminal offense has occurred on publicly owned property, as in present law as the property owned or controlled by a federal, state, or local governmental entity, or where the law enforcement agency has reasonable suspicion that a criminal offense has occurred on such property; or (G) At the scene of a fire investigation. This bill makes the same clarification regarding compliance with federal law as described above in (1) and revises the circumstances under which the drone may be used without a warrant, as follows: deletes the circumstances described above in (A) and (F); and adds to (B) that the danger must first be presented to a magistrate or judge on a sworn affidavit of complaint and the magistrate or judge must make an express finding that there is imminent danger to life and immediate action is needed. This bill also provides that evidence gathered pursuant to the above, except for that described above in (B) as amended by this bill, must not be used or available to law enforcement for any other investigation or purpose. (3) Under present law, any evidence, information, or other data collected or obtained by use of a drone must, among other things: (A) Be deleted within three business days of collection unless it is directly relevant to both the lawful reason the drone was being used and to an ongoing investigation or criminal prosecution; and (B) Not be admissible as evidence in a criminal prosecution in any court of law in this state if it was collected or obtained in violation of item (1) or (2) above. This bill revises item (3)(A) above to provide that the evidence, information, or other data must be deleted unless the evidence is directly relevant to both the lawful reason the drone as being used and to an ongoing investigation or criminal prosecution based on the operative facts given by law enforcement to a magistrate or judge as the basis for obtaining the search warrant. This bill revises item (3)(B) above to provide that such evidence, information, or other data is not admissible if it was collected or obtained in violation of any provision of the statute governing the use of drones, as amended by this bill. (4) Under present law, any person aggrieved by the unlawful use of a drone may initiate a civil action against a law enforcement agency to obtain all appropriate relief, including injunctive relief, destruction of the evidence, information or other data obtained, damages, and reasonable attorney fees. This bill revises the provision above to provide that an interested party may file a court action against the law enforcement agency and the agency's chief law enforcement official for: declaratory and injunctive relief; destruction of any evidence; disclosure of all law enforcement acts related to such use of evidence; and damages. This bill describes in detail the damages a prevailing plaintiff may recover under this provision, including the greater of actual damages (including consequential damages attributable to violation of this bill) or three times the plaintiff's attorney fees. NOTE: It appears that some words have been inadvertently omitted in SECTION 1 (d)(1).