SESSION WATCH
Died SENATE · SESSION 2026

No. SB 870

Operating Drones Over Critical Infrastructure Facilities
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SPONSOR
Wright
FILED BY
Tom A. Wright — District 8, Republican [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
7/1/2026
DIED IN
Transportation

Filed under Transportation.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Operating Drones Over Critical Infrastructure Facilities; Revising a prohibition relating to the operation of a drone over a critical infrastructure facility, etc.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Removes the commercial-purpose limit on flying drones over infrastructure.

Current law bans operating a drone over a critical infrastructure facility unless the flight is both for a commercial purpose and authorized by and compliant with Federal Aviation Administration rules.

This bill deletes the commercial-purpose requirement, so the ban's only exception going forward is FAA authorization and compliance, whether the flight is commercial, recreational, or for any other purpose.

A separate, unchanged part of the same law still bans letting a drone physically contact a critical infrastructure facility or anyone or anything on its premises.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Commercial-purpose requirement dropped from the FAA-compliance exception majors. 330.41

AIThe exception to the drone-over-critical-infrastructure ban no longer requires that the flight be for a commercial purpose. FAA authorization and compliance alone now suffice, for a flight of any purpose.

“the operation is for a commercial purpose and is” bill text, line 16 →
TIMELINE
3/13/2026
Died in Transportation
1/13/2026
Introduced
12/16/2025
Referred to Transportation; Military and Veterans Affairs, Space,...
12/10/2025
Filed
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 330.41
+0 / −10