Snapshot: Federal Landscape.

• Author: Husch, Ben

The Federal Aviation Administration's rules on drone operations continue to evolve.

The agency asserted, in a 2015 fact sheet, that the federal government is the sole regulator of drone design, construction and operation. States and localities, the FAA said, may regulate within their police powers, which govern privacy and trespass. They may also regulate where drones, which the FAA considers aircraft, can take off and land. Many states have challenged this assertion, however, by enacting laws that restrict operations in particular circumstances.

The agency laid out operational rules for commercial drones in 2016, under its Small UAS Rule (Part 107). These rules required operators to pass a knowledge test and register the drone, and they set limits on where (not over people or beyond visual line of sight) and when (daytime only) drones could be operated, without a waiver.

Drones flown for recreational purposes...