A new bill that was quietly introduced in the Senate this month could reshape how, where, and even if you can fly your drone in the U.S. Introduced as the Drone Integration and Zoning Act (S.1249), the bill seeks to allow local governments the right to regulate drone flights below 200 feet.
The bill creates a new legal term, “immediate reaches of airspace,” which would be defined as the first 200 feet above ground level. This swath of airspace would not be regulated by the FAA for drones, but would be passed on to local governments to determine how, when, and if drones can fly in their jurisdiction.
This bill hopes to add clarification to what is and isn’t defined as “navigable airspace,” over which the FAA has sole jurisdiction. However, the term doesn’t have a definition for where it starts.
This new region of airspace would allow states, counties, cities, tribal governments, and other local regulators the ability to pass restrictions on how drones fly above their land. This could mean no-fly zones, altitude restrictions, takeoff and landing restrictions, or anything else a city could come up with. The 2022 Census cited 90,837 local governments, making the possibility for each to have their own set of drone laws.
That means your town could pass its own no-fly zones, permit requirements, or restrictions on hobbyist drone use, and you’d be legally required to follow them, even if you have already passed your FAA Part 107 test or fly a DJI Mini that avoids FAA registration requirements.
The FAA currently preempts local laws when it comes to airspace. That consistency has been crucial to the growth of consumer drones, allowing pilots to fly under one unified set of rules. This bill would flip that model.
Under S.1249:
- Counties could create their own drone permit systems
- Cities could prohibit drone takeoffs in parks or near schools
- Tribal lands could become no-fly zones, even for recreational use
- Even short flights for photography or real estate might require navigating both FAA rules and local regulations
If passed, drone pilots would be required to understand local drone regulations when flying between 0-200 feet, then switch to FAA regulations if they fly between 201-400 feet, making drone flying more confusing with a higher barrier to entry.
While the law doesn’t ban drones, it does allow cities or counties the ability to ban drone flights within their reaches of airspace. The law also doesn’t outline the processes for transiting local jurisdictions to reach the national airspace above 200 feet. This means that cities could outright ban all drone flights in their cities unless you are near the border of a city that doesn’t have a ban. Then you would be able to skirt around the 200 feet ban to fly within FAA airspace.
This bill could mean you now have to be aware of several dozen, or hundreds, of drone laws to legally operate your drone in your local area. While your Part 107 license would remain valid for flights above 200 feet, it could mean nothing if you wish to fly below it if a city requires its own license.
However, the bill is far from final, and previous versions of this bill have been introduced and failed to pass in the past.
