HB 205: Board of Homeland Security; development of a list of approved unmanned aircraft systems; provide

Georgia law currently defines unmanned aircraft systems (drones) and limits how local governments can regulate them. This bill adds a new category called an 'approved unmanned aircraft system,' meaning a drone the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) has cleared for use in the state. GEMA must build that approved list by December 1, 2025, working with the Department of Administrative Services and outside data privacy experts, and update it every six months. Drones make the list only if they meet Federal Aviation Administration standards, have Department of Defense clearance, comply with a federal defense law, block unauthorized data transmission, and pose no security threat. The bill lets cities and counties adopt ordinances allowing launch or landing of approved drones on public property, something not previously permitted for local governments generally. It also says state and local governments should buy only approved drones where practical, and starting January 1, 2028, bans them from buying any drone that is not on the approved list. GEMA's records about developing the list are shielded from Georgia's open records law.

• Requires GEMA to create, by December 1, 2025, a public list of drones approved for use in Georgia, based on federal safety, defense clearance, and data security criteria.
• Creates a new legal category, 'approved unmanned aircraft system,' defined as a drone on GEMA's approved list.
• Allows counties and cities to pass ordinances permitting launch or landing of approved drones on public property, an option they did not clearly have before.
• Directs state agencies and local governments to prefer approved drones and bans them, starting January 1, 2028, from buying any drone not on the approved list.
• Requires GEMA to update the approved list every six months and to consult data privacy experts and the Department of Administrative Services when building it.
• Exempts GEMA's records about developing the approved drone list from Georgia's open records law (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70).

Georgia state agencies and local governments that buy or operate drones, GEMA staff who must build and maintain the approved list, county and municipal governments deciding whether to pass drone ordinances, and drone manufacturers whose products may or may not make the approved list.

Public agencies across Georgia would eventually be locked into buying only government-vetted drones, which could affect costs, vendor choices, and how quickly agencies can deploy new drone technology. Cities and counties gain clearer authority to allow drone launches on public property, and some GEMA records on the list-building process would no longer be publicly accessible.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 6-1-4 to define 'approved unmanned aircraft system' as one on GEMA's list and clarifies the existing drone definition excludes satellites.
• Section 1 lets local governments adopt ordinances allowing launch or landing of approved drones on public property, adding a fourth exception to state preemption of local drone rules.
• Section 1 lets the state, through agency rules, allow launch or landing of approved drones on state public property.
• Section 1 requires state and local governments to purchase only approved drones 'to the extent practicable' and bans purchase of non-approved drones after January 1, 2028.
• Section 2 adds new Code Section 38-3-39, requiring GEMA to build the approved drone list by December 1, 2025, in coordination with the Department of Administrative Services and privacy experts.
• Section 2 sets five criteria a drone must meet to be listed, including FAA compliance, Department of Defense clearance, compliance with the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, data security design, and no state security threat.
• Section 2 requires GEMA to publish and review the list every six months and exempts related GEMA records from the state's open records law.

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

• drone regulation
• homeland security
• government procurement
• open records law
• local government authority