Florida Senate - 2015                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 766
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì114264"Î114264                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  03/26/2015           .                                
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       The Committee on Judiciary (Simpson) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 54 - 100
    4  and insert:
    5  property or of the owner, tenant, occupant, invitee, or licensee
    6  of such property with the intent to conduct surveillance on the
    7  individual or property captured in the image in violation of
    8  such person’s reasonable expectation of privacy without his or
    9  her written consent. For purposes of this section, a person is
   10  presumed to have a reasonable expectation of privacy on his or
   11  her privately owned or occupied real property if he or she is
   12  not observable by persons located at ground level in a place
   13  where they have a legal right to be, regardless of whether he or
   14  she is observable from the air with the use of a drone. This
   15  paragraph is not intended to limit or restrict the application
   16  of federal law to the use of drones for surveillance purposes.
   17         (4) EXCEPTIONS.—This act does not prohibit the use of a
   18  drone:
   19         (a) To counter a high risk of a terrorist attack by a
   20  specific individual or organization if the United States
   21  Secretary of Homeland Security determines that credible
   22  intelligence indicates that there is such a risk.
   23         (b) If the law enforcement agency first obtains a search
   24  warrant signed by a judge authorizing the use of a drone.
   25         (c) If the law enforcement agency possesses reasonable
   26  suspicion that, under particular circumstances, swift action is
   27  needed to prevent imminent danger to life or serious damage to
   28  property, to forestall the imminent escape of a suspect or the
   29  destruction of evidence, or to achieve purposes including, but
   30  not limited to, facilitating the search for a missing person.
   31         (d) By a person or entity engaged in a business or
   32  profession licensed by the state, or by an agent, employee, or
   33  contractor thereof, if the drone is used only to perform
   34  reasonable tasks within the scope of practice or activities
   35  permitted under such person’s or entity’s license.
   36         (e) By an employee or contractor of a property appraiser
   37  who uses a drone solely for the purpose of assessing property
   38  for ad valorem taxation.
   39         (5) REMEDIES FOR VIOLATION.—
   40         (a) An aggrieved party may initiate a civil action against
   41  a law enforcement agency to obtain all appropriate relief in
   42  order to prevent or remedy a violation of this act.
   43         (b) The owner, tenant, occupant, invitee, or licensee of
   44  privately owned or occupied real property may initiate a civil
   45  action for compensatory damages for violations of this section
   46  and may seek injunctive relief to prevent future violations of
   47  this section against a person, state agency, or political
   48  subdivision that violates paragraph (3)(b). In such action, the
   49  prevailing party is entitled to recover reasonable attorney fees
   50  from the nonprevailing party based on the actual and reasonable
   51  time expended by his or her attorney billed at an appropriate
   52  hourly rate and, in cases in which the payment of such a fee is
   53  contingent on the outcome, without a multiplier, unless the
   54  action is tried to verdict, in which case a multiplier of up to
   55  twice the actual value of the time expended may be awarded in
   56  the discretion of the trial court.
   57         (c) Punitive damages for a violation of paragraph (3)(b)
   58  may be sought against a person subject to other requirements and
   59  limitations of law, including, but not limited to, part II of
   60  chapter 768 and case law.
   61         (d) The remedies provided for a violation of paragraph
   62  (3)(b) are cumulative to
   63  
   64  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   65  And the title is amended as follows:
   66         Delete lines 6 - 15
   67  and insert:
   68         property or of the owner, tenant, occupant, invitee,
   69         or licensee of such property with the intent to
   70         conduct surveillance without his or her written
   71         consent if a reasonable expectation of privacy exists;
   72         specifying when a reasonable expectation of privacy
   73         may be presumed; authorizing the use of a drone by a
   74         person or entity engaged in a business or profession
   75         licensed by the state in certain circumstances;
   76         authorizing the use of a drone by an employee or
   77         contractor of a property appraiser for the purpose of
   78         assessing property for ad valorem taxation; providing
   79         that an owner, tenant, occupant, invitee, or licensee
   80         may initiate a civil action for compensatory damages
   81         and may seek injunctive relief against a person, a
   82         state agency, or a political subdivision that violates
   83         the act; providing for construction; providing for the
   84         recovery of attorney fees and