(CNN) -- A new Florida law restricts police use of drones within the state's borders.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott
signed the measure Thursday, saying it will protect the state's
residents from "unwarranted surveillance."
Before local or state law
enforcement agencies can use surveillance drones, the Freedom from
Unwarranted Surveillance Act requires a judge to approve in nearly all
cases.
The legislation makes
exceptions in cases involving "imminent danger to life or serious damage
to property" and when "credible intelligence" from the federal
Department of Homeland Security points to "a high risk of a terrorist
attack."
The bill that state
lawmakers passed unanimously earlier this year, Scott said, "maintains a
balance between the need for law enforcement to protect our citizens
against credible threats and imminent danger while ensuring that the
privacy of Florida families is protected."
The measure was backed by both the American Civil Liberties Union and by conservative Republicans.
In Florida, the
Miami-Dade Police Department and the Orange County Sheriff's Office each
have two drones. Miami-Dade's roughly backpack-size Honeywell T-Hawks
have been used only in training exercises so far, Detective Roy Rutland
said earlier this year.
To some, the idea of an unmanned aircraft hovering over U.S. homes seems like a scenario out of a science fiction novel.
But the use of drones has
become controversial in recent years as unmanned aerial vehicles have
become cheaper and more advanced. The concerns range from moral
questions over their use in warfare overseas to worries about their
impact on air traffic in the United States.
Other states are also weighing measures to restrict domestic drone use, the ACLU said.
Last month, drones both dazzled and worried senators at a hearing about their use within the United States. Lawmakers and experts said that new legislation may be needed to protect the privacy and safety of citizens.
Senate Judiciary
Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, held and studied a small
plane weighing just 2 pounds before beginning the hearing.
"I am convinced that the
domestic use of drones to conduct surveillance and collect other
information will have a broad and significant impact on the everyday
lives of millions of Americans," he said.
The small aircraft can
be fitted with lightweight cameras. And Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa,
the ranking Republican on the panel, said the technology may require
lawmakers to develop a new definition of an unreasonable search, which
is banned under the Constitution's Fourth Amendment.
"The thought of
government drones buzzing overhead monitoring the activities of
law-abiding citizens," he said, "runs contrary to the notion of what it
means to live in a free society."