HB 1230: Aviation; prohibit operation of unmanned aircraft systems over a place of incarceration

Current Georgia law already restricts using drones to smuggle contraband into prisons or to photograph facilities for criminal purposes, but this bill tightens and expands those rules. It makes it illegal for anyone to knowingly and intentionally fly a drone above a place of incarceration, or to allow someone else to fly one from their property over such a facility, whether to violate contraband rules, to record images for a criminal purpose, or simply to fly over the facility at all. The bill sets felony penalties: one to ten years in prison for drone use tied to contraband violations, and five to ten years for flying over or photographing a facility for criminal purposes. It also lets law enforcement treat violating drones as contraband that can be seized or destroyed, and allows officers to jam, hack, or physically capture drones they reasonably suspect are involved in crime or a public safety threat. Utility workers and compliant operators are exempted. It also updates the statewide drone law (O.C.G.A. § 6-1-4) to match these changes.

• Makes it a felony to knowingly and intentionally operate a drone above a place of incarceration, or to allow someone else to do so from your property.
• Sets prison terms of one to ten years for drone-based contraband violations and five to ten years for flying over or photographing a facility for a criminal purpose.
• Declares drones used in violation of the law to be contraband that police may seize, remove, or destroy at the owner's expense.
• Authorizes law enforcement to use detection, jamming, hacking, or physical capture against drones reasonably suspected of criminal activity or posing a public safety threat near a prison.
• Exempts drone operators following federal rules, peace officers on duty, and utility employees acting within their jobs.
• Updates the state's general drone law (O.C.G.A. § 6-1-4) so its definitions and local preemption rules line up with the new prison-related restrictions.

Drone operators and hobbyists, people who fly drones near correctional facilities, prison and jail wardens and staff, law enforcement agencies that oversee places of incarceration, utility company employees who use drones for work, and anyone convicted of violating the new restrictions.

Georgians who fly drones near prisons or jails, even unintentionally, could face felony charges and years in prison, while law enforcement gains new authority to jam, disable, or destroy drones near these facilities, changing both drone recreation rules and how officers respond to suspected smuggling or surveillance attempts.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 42-5-18 to define 'unmanned aircraft system' using the definition in O.C.G.A. § 6-1-4 and adds new prohibited conduct.
• Section 1 makes it unlawful to knowingly and intentionally operate, or let another operate from one's property, a drone in violation of contraband rules, above a place of incarceration, or from one's own property above one such place.
• Section 1 sets penalties: one to ten years for contraband-related drone violations, five to ten years for flying over or recording a facility for criminal purposes.
• Section 1 allows prior authorization from a warden to serve as evidence of noncriminal intent, though lacking authorization alone is not evidence of criminal intent.
• Section 1 declares violating drones contraband subject to seizure or destruction at the owner's expense, and authorizes mitigation measures like jamming or physical capture when there is reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or a safety threat.
• Section 1 exempts federally compliant operators, peace officers on duty, and utility employees acting within their jobs from these restrictions.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 6-1-4 to update the drone definition and local government preemption language to match the new prison provisions.

1. 2026-05-05Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-05Act 388
3. 2026-05-05House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-27Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-27Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2026-03-27Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
8. 2026-03-27Senate Tabled (Senate)

• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)Primary sponsor
• Brad Thomas (R, HD-021)
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)
• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 3, 2026

   166 yea, 2 nay (1 not voting, 8 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #593

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   26 yea, 22 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #835

3. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   45 yea, 0 nay (4 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #869

• drone laws
• prison security
• criminal penalties
• aviation regulation
• law enforcement powers