FAA Preemption Issue with State

& Local sUAS Regulations continued from HOME page -

and burden commercial and hobbyist sUAS users. Under the federal Administrative Procedure Act, the FAA had a duty to respond to the preemption comments.

What did the FAA do? It punted, concluding “that specific regulatory text addressing preemption is not required in the final rule.”  It went on to state that Preemption issues involving sUAS necessitate a case-specific analysis that is not appropriate in a rule of general applicability. Additionally, certain legal aspects concerning sUAS use may be best addressed at the State or local level.

The FAA’s lack of action has resulted in the proliferation of state and local anti-drone laws. These anti-drone laws will and have conflicted with federal law and Constitutional protections. There have been few challenges because at first those most affected are hobbyists and small businesses, who don’t have the financial resources to fund litigation. Even when legal challenges are brought by large companies or organizations it will be a nightmare to challenge the numerous state and local laws in effect.  

We need to get Congress to clarify the scope of federal preemption relating to sUAS operations in the NAS and provide the FAA with clear directives of federal preemptive authority and enforcement action in the 2017 FAA reauthorization act bills pending in the House and Senate.