Colorado Senate Rejects Drone Surveillance Limits

DENVER (AP) - A proposal to limit government drone surveillance in Colorado has failed in its first test.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 3-2 Wednesday against limits on how police and other government agencies can use drones on private land. The bill would have required authorities to get search warrants before doing surveillance in many cases.

Republicans voted against the measure, including one of the bill's sponsors. Sen. Kevin Lundberg said that Colorado should keep working to find what called "sideboards" on government drone use.

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The measure would have also banned government drones from using facial recognition software.

The ban was opposed by police groups and by several state agencies, who said it would tie their hands on everything from search and rescue to wildlife counts.

LINK: Senate Bill 59

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