News beat
Follow proposed rules, final actions, enforcement programs, and public-comment windows from the source document to the practical effect on a flight.
Coverage file
15
Source-backed reports, newest first
Latest / Final / Rule watch
Two amendments to A.R.S. 13-3729 approved June 22 took effect with Arizona's general effective date on September 12: a class 1 misdemeanor for operating a civil drone within 5,280 feet of or above a gated, ticketed music, sporting, or performing-arts event, and a class 3 misdemeanor for recreational flights that photograph or loiter within 200 feet above a posted K-12 campus.
Read the report
Robert Reckert, acting manager of the FAA's Emerging Technologies Division, told the closing keynote at Commercial UAV Expo that the agency is very confident in the rule and hoping to see it published by the end of the calendar year, Commercial UAV News reported September 11.
A September 4 Federal Register notice asks BVLOS operators and their associations to apply for technical roundtables on TSA-approved security programs, to be held once the FAA and TSA final rules are published.
Permit Sonoma agreed on September 2 to stop warrantless drone surveillance of homes and their surroundings, notify residents who were surveilled, delete footage after 30 days, and put a revised policy through public comment, ending a lawsuit over a program that began as cannabis enforcement in 2019.
The final count in PS Docket 26-189 is 3,847. Pilot Institute's review of the readable filings puts opposition at 98.6 percent, and DJI's comment is signed by the 48th Solicitor General of the United States.
OIRA's register lists the final BVLOS rule as received July 10, 2026, Pending Review, Economically Significant. The FAA's Fall 2025 agenda had promised a final rule in July.
ESHB 2711 doubles the state registration fee to $30 and puts commercial drones on the aircraft excise schedule, and the increase is routed to a sustainable aviation fuel account.
State, local, tribal, and territorial governments have until September 10 to apply. The agreements support advanced testing but do not make Part 108 final or grant automatic BVLOS authority.
The five-year zone can support wireless research on farms, including work with robots and drones. It does not replace an FCC program license, spectrum coordination, or FAA flight approval.
The agency says Gorge Drones dispensed fertilizer without an agricultural aircraft operator certificate and used an unregistered aircraft without an airworthiness certificate.
Castle Rock and Parker are using local land-use authority to stop new hub approvals temporarily while they write rules for noise, privacy, siting, and neighborhood compatibility.
A joint DHS-DOJ rule creates separate detection and mitigation certifications for qualified agencies. The published September 4 comment deadline has passed.
DETER can offer eligible first-time operators a reduced penalty or suspension, but only after they admit liability and waive an appeal.
The FAA's UAFR proposal would create Standard and Special drone flight restrictions around eligible fixed-site facilities. Comments are now due August 5, 2026.
The FAA's BVLOS framework remains at the NPRM stage as of July 2026, while delivery networks and utility programs scale as if it is coming.