HB205: HB205 Board of Homeland Security; development of a list of approved unmanned aircraft systems; provide

Georgia law currently limits local governments from regulating drones (unmanned aircraft systems) but does not set state standards for which drones are safe to buy or use. This bill directs the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) to create, by December 1, 2025, a public list of approved drones that meet federal aviation and defense standards, protect data from unauthorized access, and pose no security threat to the state. The bill lets local governments pass ordinances allowing launch or landing of approved drones on public property, something otherwise generally preempted by state law. It also says state agencies and local governments should try to buy only approved drones now, and after January 1, 2028 they would be barred from buying or acquiring any drone not on the approved list. Records related to building the list would be exempt from Georgia's open records law (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70).

• Requires GEMA to build, by December 1, 2025, a public list of drones approved for use in Georgia, developed with the Department of Administrative Services and privacy experts.
• Sets criteria for the approved list: compliance with FAA rules, clearance by the U.S. Department of Defense, compliance with the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, data protection, and no security threat to the state.
• Allows local governments to adopt ordinances permitting launch or landing of approved drones on public property, an exception to the state's general preemption of local drone rules.
• Directs GEMA to update the approved list every six months and publish it on its website.
• Bars state agencies and local governments from buying any drone not on the approved list starting January 1, 2028, while encouraging purchase of approved drones before that date.
• Exempts GEMA records about developing the approved list from Georgia's open records law (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70).

State agencies, counties, cities, and other local governments that buy or operate drones; drone manufacturers and vendors seeking state approval; and Georgians concerned about government drone use, data privacy, and public access to records about how the list is created.

Once the list exists, local governments could allow drone launches on public property in ways currently blocked, and after 2028 government purchases would be limited to vetted, approved drones, changing how state and local agencies acquire and deploy drone technology.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 6-1-4 to define 'approved unmanned aircraft system' and add an exception letting local governments allow launch or landing of approved drones on public property.
• Section 1 also requires state agencies and local governments to buy only approved drones where practicable now, and bans purchase of non-approved drones on and after January 1, 2028.
• Section 2 adds new O.C.G.A. § 38-3-39, requiring GEMA to publish an approved drone list by December 1, 2025, developed with the Department of Administrative Services and privacy experts.
• Section 2 lists five approval criteria including FAA compliance, Defense Department clearance, compliance with the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, data protection, and no security threat.
• Section 2 requires the list to be reviewed and updated every six months and exempts related GEMA records from the state's open records law.
• Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-24Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-21House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
3. 2025-02-21House Third Readers (House)
4. 2025-02-13House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
5. 2025-02-04House Second Readers (House)
6. 2025-02-03House First Readers (House)
7. 2025-01-30House Hopper (House)

• David Clark (R, HD-100)Primary sponsor
• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)
• Kimberly New (R, HD-040)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 21, 2025

   162 yea, 1 nay (5 not voting, 12 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #64

• drones
• homeland security
• government procurement
• open records
• local government regulation