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Legislators heard warnings Wednesday that if Utah wants to attract more of the perhaps-soon-to-boom aerial-drone industry, it should back away from a recent slew of bills seeking to limit where they may fly.

Marshall Wright, of the Mountain West Unmanned Systems Alliance, said Utah may have scared away some drone-related companies this year when they heard "that we were going to pass a law to shoot down unmanned aerial systems" when they wandered into banned areas.

Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, who sponsored that unsuccessful measure, SB210, said, "The term was to neutralize [drones] by the least restrictive means possible," not necessarily shooting them down, and noted Utah was not the only state considering such a bill.

But Wright told the Transportation Interim Committee, "That created a negative impression about the business environment for unmanned aerial systems."

Tom McMahon, vice president of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), said drone-related industries are poised to boom once federal and state governments end uncertainty over their regulation. He said the market for drone companies is expected to grow to $13.6 billion in the first three years after the Federal Aviation Administration issues long-awaited rules for drones, and it is expected to swell to $82.1 billion in the next decade.

In Utah, he said, the industry estimates that it could add $859 million and 1,085 jobs to the state's economy in the next decade — depending on regulations.

McMahon said that comes from drone research at universities and manufacturers, and companies using them for aerial photography, filmmaking, agriculture, construction, real estate, law enforcement and more.

While lawmakers heard that the FAA plans to regulate how drones operate in the national airspace generally, it will leave to states drone-related issues such as privacy, voyeurism, trespassing and any need for warrants for law enforcement use.

Many in the industry asked lawmakers to use restraint in those areas.

"Most of the bad-behavior laws are already on the books. I think there are existing laws that can be applied to unmanned systems without new regulations," said Adam Robertson, president of the Mountain West Chapter of the AUVSI.

"Jobs are going to other countries because the regulatory environment in the United States is so far behind. The United States is trying to catch up," he said. "Let's not in Utah miss the opportunity here because we regulate too heavily. Please use restraint. Please use laws that penalize bad behavior but not fundamentally the technology."

House Minority Leader Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, agreed.

"We want to allow technology to develop in a way that is unfettered to the greatest extent possible," he said, "but at the same time keep a very close eye on behavior that may endanger the welfare, safety or health of the people."

Wright also warned that if states jump in with too many regulations, it will add to a patchwork of differing rules nationwide that "make it very difficult for operators to understand what they can do."

The Transportation Interim Committee said it will form a working group — led by Rep. Kay Christofferson, R-Lehi, and Harper — to work with the industry and others on legislation to ensure that improper behavior is punished without unduly harming drone operators and developers.