The Washington state Capitol campus could soon be a no-fly-zone for drones. The agency that oversees the 486-acre campus is considering a strict ban.
Under the proposed rule you couldn’t launch, land or operate a drone within the boundaries of the Washington Capitol campus. The only exceptions would be for law enforcement and emergency operations, national defense or for maintenance.
Department of Enterprise Services spokeswoman Linda Kent said the drone ban is about safety on a campus that sees 500,000 people a year.
“We did have an incident where an unmanned aircraft system crashed into an office window,” she said. “That wasn’t necessarily the impetus behind this, but it’s more of a matter of being proactive and making sure that we’re making the Capitol campus safe for everybody.”
Kent said the proposed drone ban is similar to one adopted by the National Park Service. Only a handful of states have prohibited Unmanned Aerial Vehicles use at their capitols including Michigan, Georgia and Arkansas. All of Washington, D.C. is a no-drone zone.
A public comment period on the proposal is currently open and a public hearing is scheduled for late December. The ban could be in place early next year.
