Bill > SF1524

This bill expands the permitted uses of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, by law enforcement in Minnesota. The proposed changes add two new circumstances under which law enforcement can use UAVs: first, to prevent the imminent destruction of evidence, and second, to facilitate the search for a missing person. The bill also introduces a provision allowing law enforcement to use UAVs over a private area if they obtain written consent from the property occupant. The existing law already permitted UAV use in various scenarios, such as during emergencies, over public events with safety risks, for counter-terrorism efforts, disaster response, threat assessments, criminal investigations, crash reconstructions, officer training, and at the request of other government entities. The key expansion here is providing law enforcement with more flexibility to use drones in evidence preservation and missing person searches, while maintaining existing safeguards about when and how UAVs can be deployed.

Justice

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/bill.php?b=Senate&f=SF1524&ssn=0&y=2025