by Jared Strong, Iowa Capital Dispatch
February 6, 2024
A bill approved by the Iowa House last year that would prohibit people from flying surveillance drones within 400 feet of open feedlots and animal confinements received committee approval in the Senate on Tuesday.
House File 572 is part of a spate of measures state lawmakers have considered in recent years to shield livestock producers from covert investigations by animal welfare groups.
The bill would make it a simple misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail, to fly a “remotely piloted aircraft” too close to a farmstead or livestock facility. The crime is enhanced to a serious misdemeanor — with up to a one-year jail sentence — if the drone is equipped with surveillance equipment, such as a camera or microphone.
The prohibition doesn’t apply to owners of the facilities, people who have their permission, those who are engaged in a “commercial or agricultural” use, and employees of government entities, public utilities and railroad companies.
The bill also would allow farmers to obtain court injunctions to bar offenders from operating drones for up to two years, and to compel them to delete drone footage of the livestock facilities.
There was little discussion of the bill Tuesday before the Senate Natural Resources and Environment committee approved it without any apparent opposition. The bill moves next to the full Senate.
The bill had broad support in the House, which passed it in April with an 87-10 vote. It is still eligible for consideration in the Senate this year because the legislative session is part of the same General Assembly.
Last month, a federal appeals court overturned injunctions against two other so-called “ag gag” laws in Iowa. One prohibits people from using deception to enter a livestock facility and the other bars filming while trespassing.
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