When a state House committee meets this coming week, one of the measures to be considered is to make the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics a clearinghouse for drones.
SB1531 by Sen.. John Haste, R-Broken Arrow and Rep. Nicole Miller, would govern unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and advanced air mobility (AAM). It will be among several bills to be considered Wednesday, April 8 when the House Transportation Committee meets.
“The purpose of this clearinghouse is to create a partnership between those entities that currently operate UAS, those that desire to use this technology in the future, and other entities that can support the research and development of UAS to ensure that this state can more effectively respond to the needs of this critical sector of the aviation and aerospace industry,” as stated in the bill.
The bill would require the state clearinghouse to cooperate, assist and coordinate with the federal government in the development of unmanned aircraft systems to ensure successful integration into the National Airspace System.
It already won support in the State Senate on a 33-12 vote on March 5. A fiscal impact statement prepared for the senate stated “There is no fiscal impact as the bill only updates and clarifies language on the authorities of the agency. Fiscal Impact provided by Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics.”