STATEHOUSE — A bill authored by State Sen. Eric Koch (R-Bedford) that would regulate the use of drones near state correctional facilities unanimously passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
Senate Enrolled Act 182 would amend the Indiana Criminal Code to make it a crime for someone to use a drone to deliver contraband to an inmate or intentionally obstruct or interfere with a correctional officer’s, including a county jail officer’s, duties at a state correctional facility.
The Indiana Department of Correction reported over 30 drone sightings in 2023 and over a dozen confirmed drone drops of contraband inside state correctional facilities. One report detailed a drone and package being recovered on the grounds of an Indiana correctional facility. The bag contained tobacco, six cell phones, four chargers, and marijuana.
“Correctional facilities house convicted individuals considered dangerous to the public, and the increasing number of cases that involve drones dropping contraband to these individuals is concerning because it puts our correctional employees and the public at risk,” Koch said. “This would better prevent these cases, which is why I am happy to see my House colleagues pass the bill to the governor’s desk for final consideration.”
The Federal Aviation Administration has not included state correctional facilities in federal law to protect state correctional facilities’ air space. There is also no Indiana law to prevent drones from flying above the state’s correctional facilities. Indiana would join approximately 20 other states in enacting similar laws.
SEA 182 will now move to the governor’s desk for final consideration. To learn more about this and other legislation Koch is authoring this legislative session, visit iga.in.gov.
To track bills on the governor’s desk, click here.
Koch serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Utilities, ranking member of the Senate Committees on Judiciary and Commerce and Technology, and member of the Senate Committee on Senate Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law. Koch can be reached via email at Senator.Koch@iga.in.gov or by phone at 800-382-9467.
