Lawmaker calls Arizona drone-restriction bill a 'direct attack' on free speech as committee approves amendment

A Committee of the Whole debate over Senate Bill 11-60 turned on competing claims about privacy, property rights and newsgathering.

One lawmaker strongly opposed the measure, saying it "is a direct attack on free speech" and arguing it could criminalize drone-based news gathering in city centers. "It turns ordinary Arizonans into criminals if they fly a drone for news gathering purposes," the lawmaker said, adding the bill was "wholly inappropriate, far too broad" and urged colleagues to vote no.

Majority Leader Carbone, who sponsored a floor amendment, said the changes narrowed the geographic buffer in the bill from five miles to one mile and that the amendment respects property rights by targeting willful misuse: "If there's a willful intent to go and take information from someone else's property and sell it, that's what this amendment does," he said, and recommended support.

After brief floor debate and a point of order to correct an earlier misstatement about the buffer distance, Committee members voted that SB 11-60 as amended "do pass." The committee subsequently reported the measure to the House and the House referred SB 11-60 to engrossing.

Why it matters: Supporters said the bill protects property owners and commercial privacy; opponents said its language could sweep too broadly and chill journalistic activity in public venues. The House next transmitted the committee report to the engrossing process, a procedural step before final consideration.

What happens next: SB 11-60 was reported out of the Committee of the Whole with the committee's recommendation that it "do pass as amended" and was referred to engrossing for formal preparation of the amended text.