[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 13, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S2043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3731. Mrs. BOXER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 3679 proposed by Mr. McConnell (for Mr. Thune (for himself 
and Mr. Nelson)) to the bill H.R. 636, to amend the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to permanently extend increased expensing limitations, and 
for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle A of title II, add the following:

          PART V--SAFE OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS

     SEC. 2171. SHORT TITLE.

       This part may be cited as the ``Safety for Airports and 
     Firefighters by Ensuring Drones Refrain from Obstructing 
     Necessary Equipment Act of 2016'' or the ``SAFE DRONE Act of 
     2016''.

     SEC. 2172. CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR OPERATING DRONES IN CERTAIN 
                   LOCATIONS.

       (a) In General.--Chapter 2 of title 18, United States Code, 
     is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``Sec. 40A. Operating drones in certain locations

       ``(a) Offense.--It shall be unlawful for a person to 
     knowingly operate a drone in a restricted area without proper 
     authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration.
       ``(b) Exception.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to 
     operations conducted for purposes of firefighting or 
     emergency response by a Federal, State, or local unit of 
     government (including any individual conducting such 
     operations pursuant to a contract or other agreement entered 
     into with the unit).
       ``(c) Regulations.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
     of the enactment of this section, the Attorney General shall, 
     by regulation, establish penalties for a violation of this 
     section that the Attorney General determines are reasonably 
     calculated to provide a deterrent to operating drones in 
     restricted areas, which may include a term of imprisonment.
       ``(d) Definitions.--In this section--
       ``(1) the term `drone' has the meaning given the term 
     `unmanned aircraft' in section 44801 of title 49;
       ``(2) the terms `large hub airport', `medium hub airport', 
     and `small hub airport' have the meanings given those terms 
     in section 47102 of title 49; and
       ``(3) the term `restricted area' means--
       ``(A) within a 2-mile radius of a small hub airport, medium 
     hub airport, or large hub airport;
       ``(B) within 2 miles of the outermost perimeter of an 
     ongoing firefighting operation involving the Department of 
     Agriculture or the Department of the Interior; or
       ``(C) in an area that is subject to a temporary flight 
     restriction issued by the Administrator of the Federal 
     Aviation Administration.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the 
     beginning of chapter 2 of title 18, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``40A. Operating drones in certain locations.''.
                                 ______