Michigan House committee hears proposal to restrict state drone purchases
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The bill would ban state dollars being used to purchase drones from companies listed as concerns by the federal government, and give agencies a five-year replacement window.
This article was originally published by Michigan Advance.
Lawmakers in the Michigan House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday wrapped up testimony on a large, bipartisan package of bills taking a three-prong approach toward drone regulations.
Rep. William Bruck (R-Erie Township) told committee members that the bills discussed at previous meetings centered on protecting critical infrastructure security and public safety, while the proposals up for discussion on Tuesday – House Bills 5328–5332 – focused on additional cyber security measures.
Among those guardrails is a ban on using state dollars to purchase drones made by companies listed as concerns by the federal government. This includes the list of Chinese military companies published in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s military-industrial complex sanction list and the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security entity list.
The package also bans state entities from operating drones purchased from those companies while providing a five-year window for state agencies to replace drones purchased by companies of concern.
“On a federal level, they have deemed that these drones are not nefarious, but they’re insecure by nature of the manufacturers that have created them,” Bruck said, noting that many of these drones are manufactured overseas with hardware and software that could allow them to be accessed by unauthorized individuals.
State Rep. Jennifer Conlin (D-Ann Arbor Township), whose House Bill 5331 helps set up the ban on state agencies purchasing and operating drones from companies of concern, said the policy was based on a similar effort instituted in Kansas.
“My bill aligns Michigan’s drone procurement standards with federal guidelines, ensuring consistent and secure purchasing practice for state agencies, local governments and education institutions,” Conlin said.
The package also tasks the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division with creating a registry of unmanned aircraft. However, the department would not be tasked with responding to security concerns, Bruck explained, they would merely retain information on registered drones.
The committee did not hold votes on the five bills up for consideration, nor on the remaining bills in the package.
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