Daily Caller News Foundation

Virginia Democrats are advancing legislation to grant an environmental department permission to use “unmanned aircraft systems” without a warrant “for the implementation and enforcement” of some green programs.

The legislation, introduced January 13, would amend an existing bill, which currently lists some exemptions for Virginia government bodies to use drones without a warrant, including for cases involving missing children or suspects at large. The amendment would allow the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to control “unmanned aircraft systems” without a warrant in order to enforce programs spanning from water and wetlands protection to erosion and sediment control, according to the amendment.

“‘Unmanned aircraft’ means an aircraft that is operated without the possibility of human intervention from within or on the aircraft,” the bill text reads. “‘Unmanned aircraft system’ means an unmanned aircraft and associated elements, including communication links, sensing devices, and the components that control the unmanned aircraft.”

Democratic State Assemblyman Alfonso Lopez of Virginia introduced the amendment. Lopez did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

“Adds the Department of Environmental Quality to the list of exceptions to the warrant requirement for the use of an unmanned aircraft system by public bodies for the implementation and enforcement of the Virginia Water Resources and Wetlands Protection Program, the Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Act, and erosion and sediment control in localities without a Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program,” a summary of the amendment reads.

Though Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has often been described as a moderate, state Democratic lawmakers have advanced a slate of bills in recent weeks that align with left-wing policies. Democrats have introduced legislation aimed at a range of issues, from embedding “transgender and queer” history across children’s curricula to expanding parole for convicts.

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