SENATE BILL 303

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Gerald Ortiz y Pino and Paul A. Pacheco

AN ACT

RELATING TO PRIVACY; ENACTING THE FREEDOM FROM UNWARRANTED SURVEILLANCE ACT; PROVIDING PENALTIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act".

     SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act:

          A. "drone" means a powered aerial vehicle that:

                (1) does not carry a human operator;

                (2) uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift;

                (3) can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely;

                (4) can be expendable or recoverable; and

                (5) can carry a lethal or non-lethal payload;

          B. "law enforcement agency" means any federal, state, tribal, county or municipal law enforcement agency in the state; and

          C. "unmanned aircraft" means aircraft that is operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft.

     SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] PROHIBITION AGAINST SURVEILLANCE BY DRONE OR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT.--

          A. A person, state agency, law enforcement agency or political subdivision of the state shall not use a drone or unmanned aircraft to gather evidence or other information pertaining to criminal conduct or conduct in violation of a statute or regulation except to the extent authorized in a warrant.

          B. A person, state agency or political subdivision of the state shall not use a drone or unmanned aircraft to conduct surveillance of an individual or of property owned by an individual, farm or agricultural operation without the consent of that individual, property owner, farm or agricultural operation.

     SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] USE OF DRONES OR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT UNDER EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES.--The Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act does not prohibit the use of a drone by a law enforcement agency when exigent circumstances exist. For the purposes of this section, exigent circumstances exist if a law enforcement agency possesses reasonable suspicion that, under particular circumstances, swift action is necessary to prevent imminent danger to life.

     SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] WARRANTED SURVEILLANCE INFORMATION--CHAIN OF CUSTODY.--Any image, data or other material acquired under the Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act shall be maintained together with a complete and unbroken record of chain of custody.

     SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] REMEDIES--PENALTIES.--

          A. An aggrieved party may in a civil action obtain all appropriate relief to prevent or remedy a violation of the Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act and shall be exempt from prosecution or liability for engaging self-help in removing an offending drone or unmanned aircraft operating in violation of that act.

          B. No information obtained or collected in violation of the Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act shall be admissible as evidence in a civil or criminal proceeding in any court of law in the state or in an administrative hearing except to establish a violation of that act.

          C. A person who violates Section 3 of the Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act is guilty of a petty misdemeanor and is punishable pursuant to Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978 and shall forfeit and relinquish all images, data and information collected to the aggrieved party. If a violator uses or disseminates any material collected in violation of the Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act, that person is guilty of a fourth degree felony punishable pursuant to Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978.

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