SB 1272: Trespass with an unmanned aircraft system; penalties. - Virginia

Courts of Justice Subcommittee Substitute → Governor Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was updated from a House version to a Governor's substitute, adding a new category of protected locations for drone trespass. The scope now includes maritime facilities covered by federal security laws, expanding the areas where unauthorized drone flights are a felony. Additionally, the text regarding the estimated cost for prison time was changed to state that the amount cannot be determined, likely due to a lack of specific data at the time of drafting.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include maritime facilities (defined in 46 U.S.C. § 70101) alongside public utilities and critical infrastructure as locations where unauthorized drone entry is a Class 4 felony.

SCOPE

Added maritime facilities covered by the federal Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 to the list of protected areas where unauthorized drone flights constitute a felony.

FISCAL

Changed the text regarding the estimated appropriation for prison time from a blank space to explicitly stating that the amount cannot be determined.

TECHNICAL

Adjusted punctuation and formatting in the list of protected areas to improve clarity and consistency.

Governor Substitute → Chaptered · 1 edit

MINOR

This bill transitions from a Senate Substitute version to a Chaptered version, indicating it has been approved and enacted into law. The substantive content of the trespass provisions for unmanned aircraft systems remains unchanged, with no modifications to penalties, exemptions, or applicability criteria.

TECHNICAL

The document format changed from a draft Senate Substitute to an enacted Chapter version, adding official chapter numbering (Chapter 622) and approval date (April 2, 2025) while preserving all legislative text.

Courts of Justice Substitute → Courts of Justice Subcommittee Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill text was reformatted from a Senate Substitute to a House Substitute version, with significant structural reorganization of the statute sections. The substantive legal provisions regarding drone trespass penalties appear largely unchanged, though the internal numbering and organization of subsections were altered.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's application to unmanned aircraft systems remains the same, but the internal structure of the statute was reorganized from four subsections (A, B, C, D) to three subsections (A, B, C) with modified numbering.

TECHNICAL

The statute was reorganized from four subsections (A, B, C, D) to three subsections (A, B, C), with the original exemption clause (D) now combined into subsection C.

The penalty for entering airspace over public services or utilities was moved from subsection C to subsection B, while the Class 1 misdemeanor penalty for trespass near dwellings remains in subsection A.

The document header was changed from 'Senate Substitute' to 'House Substitute' with updated committee attribution from Senate Committee to House Committee for Courts of Justice.

Additional page formatting and line break markers were added throughout the document, including a bill tracking number (25107394D) and a timestamp (2/13/25 08:44).

Reenrolled → Courts of Justice Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill was modified from its reenrolled version to a substitute version proposed by the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice. The main substantive change is that the penalty for certain unmanned aircraft system violations was reduced from a Class 4 felony to a Class 6 felony, and the scope of the law was narrowed to focus more specifically on correctional facilities. The exemption section was also reorganized to clarify when the law does not apply.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing references to public services, utilities, and certain maritime facilities from the felony provision, and by consolidating correctional facility violations into a single subsection.

ENFORCEMENT

Penalty for violating airspace over correctional facilities was reduced from a Class 4 felony to a Class 6 felony

SCOPE

Removed references to public services, utilities, and maritime facilities from the felony provision, narrowing the scope of violations

REQUIREMENT

Restructured the exemption section to clarify when the law does not apply to unmanned aircraft operations

TECHNICAL

Changed fiscal impact language from 'cannot be determined' to blank spaces for the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission to fill in

Enrolled → Reenrolled · 3 edits · Apr 2, 2025

MINOR

The bill was reenrolled with substantive changes to the trespass provisions for unmanned aircraft systems. The most significant change is the addition of a new category making it a Class 4 felony to fly drones over maritime facilities covered by the federal Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, in addition to public utilities, critical infrastructure, and military bases. The exemptions section was also updated to include maritime facilities alongside the existing categories.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include maritime facilities as a protected area where unauthorized drone flights constitute a felony offense.

SCOPE

Added maritime facilities (as defined in 46 U.S.C. § 70101) to the list of protected areas where unauthorized drone flights are a Class 4 felony.

ENFORCEMENT

Updated the exemptions section to include maritime facilities alongside public services, utilities, and critical infrastructure for official business operations.

TECHNICAL

Formatting changes including line breaks, spacing, and header updates between enrolled and reenrolled versions.

Introduced → Enrolled · 4 edits · Apr 2, 2025

MODERATE

SB 1272 was enacted into law as an Enrolled bill, updating Virginia's trespass laws for unmanned aircraft systems. The bill reorganized the statute structure, removed a separate felony provision for airspace violations over correctional facilities, and added new exemptions for public service employees. These changes clarify when drone operations constitute criminal trespass versus lawful activity.

Scope change

The bill's scope was modified by removing the Class 6 felony provision for unauthorized drone flights over correctional facilities and consolidating airspace violations into a single Class 4 felony category. Exemptions were expanded to include employees of public services and utilities conducting official business.

ENFORCEMENT

Removed the Class 6 felony penalty for unauthorized drone flights over correctional facilities, which was previously in subsection B. Airspace violations are now uniformly classified as Class 4 felonies under subsection B.

Added a new exemption (iv) allowing employees of public services or utilities conducting official business to operate drones without violating the trespass provisions.

STRUCTURE

Restructured the statute by combining drone airspace violations and correctional facility photography into one subsection, and moved the exemption language to a single consolidated subsection C.

TECHNICAL

Added 'without authorization' language to the drone airspace violation provision to clarify the element required for criminal liability.

Trespass with an unmanned aircraft system; penalties.

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