NDAA Includes Drones Registration Requirement

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

The U.S. Constitution is all about authorities to the federal government.  The rules are simple.  As a social contract, the Constitution grants authorities to the federal government so that it may operate in the manner originally intended.  The expected duties of the federal government were of external issues such as war and trade, protecting the union through an established armed forces and through operations such as securing the border, and preserving the union internally by mediating disagreements between the States and ensuring communication between the States through a postal service.  If an authority is not granted to the federal government, even if it is obvious that the federal government should have that authority, the authority does not belong to the federal government, and must be administered by the States.

The way to grant an authority to the federal government if it does not exist in the first seven articles of the document is by way of amending the Constitution.  The amendment process may be initiated by a proposal by Congress, or by the States.  Ultimately, any request by amendment requires approval by the ratification of at lest three-quarters of the States.

Aviation, while obviously a federal issue, was never technically added to the list of authorities for the federal government by the amendment process.  Therefore, currently the Federal Aviation Administration is technically not constitutional.  I suppose it should be, but the proper actions were never taken to make it so.

However, since the FAA exists, the federal government is under the assumption that if something flies, it must be regulated by the federal government.  While I am surprised they haven't gotten so ridiculous as to require kites to be regulated by the FAA, they do require the registration of drones before they can take flight.  The regulation, which was continued on November 16th of this year when Congress passed the National Defense Authority Act (NCAA), targets small, model-aircraft-sized drones weighing less than 55 pounds, and more than 0.55 pounds, was established under the Obama administration in 2015.  The fee is only $5, and can be done online.  It includes both commercial and recreational use drone operators using this kind of aircraft.

In the past there have been legal challenges, because law exists prohibiting the FAA from regulating "model aircraft."  The legal jungle has yet to be unraveled.

While I believe the law is ultimately unenforceable, half a million craft were registered during the first year of the rule. FAA uses local law enforcement to assist in executing the law, and to ensure compliance. A fine of up to $250,000 and up to 3 years jail time could be levied against violators.

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