Sec. 598. REPORT REGARDING USE OF AERIAL SYSTEMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TO SUPPORT AGENCIES OF STATES, TERRITORIES, AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

581 words·~3 min read·/statute-compilations/comps-15772/sec-598

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

## SEC. 598 REPORT REGARDING USE OF AERIAL SYSTEMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE TO SUPPORT AGENCIES OF STATES, TERRITORIES, AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ###

(a)Report Required Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report regarding the requirements, policies, and procedures governing the use of manned and unmanned aerial systems of the Department of Defense to support State and Federal agencies. ###

(b)Elements The report under subsection

(a)shall include the following: ####

(1)A description of requirements for providing support to State and Federal agencies that the Secretary considers appropriate for planning, programming and budgeting resources. ####

(2)A description of manned and unmanned aerial systems that the Secretary regularly provides to support State and Federal agencies, including examples of support provided, and length of time to approve requests. ####

(3)A list of requests for such aerial systems from State and Federal agencies during fiscal year 2019 that the Secretary denied and the reason each such request was disapproved. ####

(4)An overview of current policies and procedures governing the use of such aerial systems by States and Federal agencies, including— #####

(A)procedures a State or Federal agency must follow to obtain use of such aerial systems for natural disasters and search and rescue operations; #####

(B)the typical amount of time needed to process such requests, and whether such procedures can be streamlined; and #####

(C)to what extent different policies and procedures apply to unmanned aerial systems versus manned aerial systems. ####

(5)A description of the different categories of unmanned aerial systems of the Department of Defense, how such categories are managed, and whether the criteria for such categories affect the ability of the Secretary to use unmanned aerial systems to support State or Federal agencies. ####

(6)An explanation of any restrictions on the use of such unmanned aerial systems under— #####

(A)the “Guidance for the Domestic Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems in U.S. National Airspace”, dated August 18, 2018; #####

(B)Department of Defense Instruction 3025.18 “Defense Support to Civil Authorities”; and #####

(C)other relevant guidance of the Department of Defense. ####

(7)Whether restrictions described in paragraph

(6)apply differently to regular members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty and to members of the National Guard. ####

(8)Whether members of the National Guard may operate the different categories of such unmanned aerial systems when operating under section 502(f) of title 32, United States Code. ####

(9)An analysis of how the Secretary may improve access to and knowledge of States and Federal agencies regarding the availability of such unmanned aerial systems and related request procedures. ####

(10)Whether— #####

(A)the Secretary has been unable to provide an unmanned aerial system to support to a State agency at the request of such State agency; and #####

(B)the Secretary has plans to make more unmanned aerial systems available to fulfil such requests. ####

(11)Any other matters the Secretary determines appropriate. ###

(c)Form The report required by subsection

(a)shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. ###

(d)State Defined In this section, the term “State” has the meaning given that term in section 901 of title 32, United States Code.