IL HB3902: STATE GOVT-GENERAL MANDATES

In one paragraph

Illinois' Public Act 103-0101 (HB 3902), the Drones as First Responders Act, amends the Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act to let police use drones for search and rescue, infrastructure inspections, demonstrations, dispatched emergency calls and some government-hosted events. Police may not use onboard facial recognition in flight and may run drone data through facial recognition only to counter a terrorist risk found by the Homeland Security Secretary or on reasonable suspicion that swift action is needed to prevent imminent harm, escape or evidence destruction. Drones may not be armed. It revises data retention and adds Attorney General enforcement. Approved and effective June 16, 2023.

Plain-English summary, written with AI assistance. The official text controls.

What it means for business

No duties for private businesses; the act governs law enforcement drone use. Illinois police may not arm drones or use onboard facial recognition, and may use facial recognition on drone information only under the terrorist-threat or swift-action exceptions.

Key provisions

1. 1New uses (725 ILCS 167/15): search and rescue or aiding people who cannot otherwise be safely reached, added to the existing missing-person exception (only when no criminal investigation is underway); infrastructure inspections at a local government agency's express request; demonstrations that record nothing; and calls for service dispatched by a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), solely to locate victims, assist with immediate health or safety needs or coordinate emergency response
2. 2Government-hosted routed events (parades, walks or races of more than 50 people) and special events (concerts or food festivals above set attendance levels), excluding First Amendment-protected assemblies: drone use requires posted notice and FAA compliance, for mapping before the event (no personal identifying information recorded) or real-time safety monitoring
3. 3Sec. 17: an agency may not use onboard facial recognition software with the drone during a flight, and may not use drone-gathered information with any facial recognition software unless it is using the drone to counter a high risk of a terrorist attack by a specific individual or organization that the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security has found credible intelligence of, or it has reasonable suspicion that swift action is needed to prevent imminent harm to life or forestall a suspect's escape or destruction of evidence
4. 4Sec. 18: no firearm, weaponized laser, kinetic impact projectile, chemical agent or irritant, or other lethal or non-lethal weapon may be equipped or used on a drone
5. 5Retention: most drone information destroyed within 30 days, event information within 24 hours, and inspection information turned over to the requesting agency and then destroyed; supervisors may keep evidence, information for ongoing investigations or trials, non-identifying training footage, and flight path data, metadata or telemetry
6. 6Agencies may not sell drone information or disclose it except as authorized; flight records may be released under FOIA; annual April 1 reports to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority list each use, and agencies must post their drone policies online
7. 7Sec. 45: agencies must have policies providing training or discipline for violations and must remove pilots for willful and wanton violations; the Attorney General may investigate patterns and practices and sue for equitable relief; a pattern-or-practice judgment bars drone use under Sec. 15 for at least 6 months (first) and up to one year (second)
8. 8Approved June 16, 2023 (Public Act 103-0101); effective upon becoming law

Latest legislative action

Jun 16, 2023. Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0101

Sponsors (showing 5 of 51)

Roll call votes

Amendments (1)

• Senate Amendment 001 Not adopted 2023-05-24