PHOENIX — It's being promoted as a measure to protect public safety.
State Sen. Tim Dunn said the operators of Phoenix International Raceway came to him with concerns that drones over their events could become a hazard if the aircraft fell into a crowd. So the Yuma Republican agreed to sponsor legislation making it illegal to fly a drone within 400 feet — altitude or distance — from any "ticketed entertainment event."
Now, however, the legislation, which has picked up the support of NASCAR, the Arizona Cardinals, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Live Nation Entertainment, has been expanded to create a one-mile bubble around sporting events, concerts and any other paid event. That includes any event that is outdoors or at a venue with a retractable roof.
Proposed legislation passed by the Arizona House and Senate, but possibly still to be tweaked, would make it illegal to fly a drone within 400 feet — altitude or distance — from any "ticketed entertainment event.'' It also would create a one-mile bubble around sporting events, concerts and any other paid event.
House Majority Leader Michael Carbone acknowledged it is designed to keep drone operators from somehow "stealing" what is going on without paying for it.
"We do respect property rights," said the Buckeye Republican. He said it's aimed at situations when "there's a willful intent ... to take information that's from someone else's property."
Dunn said there is precedent for what he is seeking.
The Federal Aviation Authority already prohibits drones within three miles of major sporting events that seat 30,000 or more people from an hour before to an hour after, under its authority to declare "National Defense Airspace." All the Arizona proposal does is extend that to smaller events as well as events such as concerts and other outdoor gatherings, Dunn said.
But Rep. Alexander Kolodin said the measure, Senate Bill 1160, is overly broad.
"This bill is a significant threat to our First Amendment rights and threatens to turn a lot of our fellow Arizonans, including members of the media, into criminals," said the Scottsdale Republican.
He referred to the zone around events where drones could not fly at all.
"If the intent of this bill was to prevent people from recording live performances at ticketed events, it's very simple," he said. "You say, 'You can't use a drone to record a live performance at a ticketed event without the consent of the organizer.'"
But that is not what the bill says or does, Kolodin said.
It says any person flying a drone within a mile of any such event is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. That would include anyone, media or otherwise, who was simply flying around to look at the traffic or anything else.
It would carry a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Kolodin said he was surprised the Arizona Media Association has not weighed in on the legislation. Its membership includes radio and TV stations, newspapers and digital operations.
Lisa Simpson, the association's senior vice president, said she had no comment.
But Kolodin said this isn't just about reporters. Others could be affected.
Consider, Kolodin said, anyone who happens to live within a mile of one of these events.
SB 1160 would allow those people to fly their drones — but only above their own property. Even then, he noted, the drone operators could not use their aircraft for commercial purposes, which presumably would keep them from sending sales pitch messages overhead.
But Kolodin said the prohibition against what drone owners who live within a mile of the event could do above their own personal property would also include "to convey or communicate a message."
"We could think of a situation where we have a speaker on the drone, obviously keeping within city noise limits, is broadcasting a political message, a social message, something like that," Kolodin said. "That is expressly prohibited under the bill, which is a clear First Amendment violation."
He noted there are people who know how to program drones to create patterns where their lights paint a picture or spell out a message.
"I'm sure if I knew more about drones, I'm sure there's a way I could get them to say 'MAGA' if I wanted," Kolodin said. "That's expressly prohibited under the bill."
Kolodin also said he sees something ironic with the state seeking to make criminals out of some drone operators.
He said it comes at a time "where the government is using drones more and more to spy on citizens." Kolodin also noted that some of his colleagues are supporting a measure that would formalize the ability of police and cities to use cameras at intersections and elsewhere, which he said would "create a surveillance state where every move of a citizen is monitored."
Yet Kolodin said SB 1160 would restrict the ability of Arizonans to use the same tools.
He had some words for those pushing lawmakers to enact these new restrictions.
"I could see how the Cardinals, Ticketmaster, whoever, would want a bill that prohibits recording their live events," Kolodin said. "It's understandable. But I can't understand how they would not look at this and realize that it is far too broad for that ostensible purpose. It doesn't make any sense to me."
Dunn said despite the fact that both the Senate and House have approved versions of his plan, he is open to some tweaking of the language — but only as long as the measure retains what he says should be the focus of the bill: crowd safety.
