Penalties for drones over prisons part of omnibus public safety law

Later this summer, someone operating an unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone, in the airspace above a state prison or other Department of Corrections’ property will be charged with a misdemeanor. Doing so to record images or to introduce unauthorized items into a prison will make the misdeed a gross misdemeanor.

The provision is one aspect of the omnibus public safety and corrections policy law. Sponsored by Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL-St. Paul) and Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), it takes effect Aug. 1, 2020, unless otherwise noted.

Part of the law will give conservation officers the same DWI arrest authority as other peace officers.

Under current law, DNR conservation officers only have the authority to enforce provisions of the DWI chapter against individuals who are hunting while under the influence, or while operating off-road recreational vehicles or motorboats.

The law also:

• requires the Corrections Department to provide a reasonable number of free feminine hygiene products, including sanitary napkins and tampons, to female inmates, and develop a written policy to implement the process;

• changes the formula the Corrections Department uses to charge counties to house male juvenile inmates at its Red Wing facility and of juvenile females committed to the department;

• changes from “counseling” to “cultural programming” the description of services the Corrections Department must develop for American Indian inmates in all correctional facilities and community-based correctional programs;

• requires certain contractors to undergo criminal background checks before they can access the state’s Criminal Justice Data Communications Network;

• effective May 28, 2020, eliminates through calendar year 2020 local match requirement for Youth Intervention Programs’ grants to community programs that have had to suspend or severely limit their programming in response to the COVID-19 peacetime emergency; and

• repeals an obsolete provision related to juvenile offender reimbursement and a redundant provision related to the Ramsey County Community Corrections Department.

HF3391/SF3258*/CH110

SF3258* / HF3391 / CH110