WASHINGTON – The future role of drones in Virginia remains up in the air.
In one sense, they’re being shown the door. The Virginia General Assembly has passed a two-year moratorium on the use of drones by law enforcement. That ban is now before Gov. Bob McDonnell to sign.
Conversely, state officials are schmoozing the federal government to make the commonwealth a future test site, the Washington Examiner reports.
The Federal Aviation Administration asked last month for proposals to develop six research and test sites for unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, around the U.S.
With that, of course, comes money and other economic benefits.
Virginia is among 28 competitors for the six testing sites, the Examiner reports.
It’s unclear how a moratorium may affect Virginia’s prospects as one of these locations.
Sites are to be chosen later this year.
The Associated Press and WTOP’s Andrew Mollenbeck contributed to this report. Follow @MollenbeckWTOP and @WTOP on Twitter.
