Ohio HB 251 (Police Drone Surveillance)

Ohio, United StatesOhio HB 251 (136th General Assembly)Updated October 6, 2026

100%became law
Bad for your rightsLaw
  1. Introduced
  2. Passed House
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Became Law

Signed; effective Oct 6, 2026

Codifies warrantless police-drone surveillance across broad exceptions, including a 50-mile border zone and disaster patrols.

Latest update

Most provisions take effect

The bill

Official bill record

Key facts

Where
Ohio, United States
Bill number
Ohio HB 251 (136th General Assembly)
Status
Law
Takes effect Oct 6, 2026
October 6, 2026
Threat
High
Last update
October 6, 2026

Topics

SurveillancePrivacy

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What it does

HB 251 generally requires a warrant when police use a drone to observe somewhere they would need a warrant to enter physically. It then authorizes warrantless surveillance within 50 miles of an international border, during exigent circumstances, at vehicle accidents, and before, during, and after environmental or weather disasters. Agencies must document flight data, and lethal weapons on police drones are prohibited.

What’s at stake

The law places a warrant rule and its exceptions into the same statute. A 50-mile border zone and open-ended disaster patrol periods can expose large areas and ordinary activity to aerial monitoring without individualized suspicion, while courts remain divided over how the Fourth Amendment applies to drones.

Our take

Calling this a warrant law hides how much warrantless surveillance it affirmatively authorizes. Ohio has turned unsettled constitutional questions into a standing permission slip for police drones across broad places and circumstances.

Timeline

  1. Most provisions take effectLatest

  2. Signed by Governor Mike DeWine

  3. Senate passed 31 to 2; House concurred 89 to 5

  4. Introduced in the Ohio House

The record

Sponsor

Rep. Bernard Willis

Votes

  • House: Concurred in Senate amendments (89 to 5), June 10, 2026
  • Senate: Final passage (31 to 2), June 10, 2026