Federal Aviation Administration seeks to improve enforcement capabilities and Maryland officials discuss state and local drone regulation.

As reported by WBAL 11, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) now requires that all small unmanned aircraft be registered on their website. From the coverage,

Registration on http://www.faa.gov begins Monday and is free for the first 30 days, then $5 after that.

The new FAA regulations are for drones weighing from half a pound to 55 pounds and the registry allows the agency to track down devices that crash or fly into restricted airspace.

Joe Getty recently raised the topic of drone regulation during a legislative forecast at MACo’s Winter Conference in Dorchester County, Maryland. Getty is the Chief Legislative Officer for Maryland’s Governor Hogan.

Getty spoke of the possible impact of drones in the community, stating that they are working with the state corrections unit, and mentioning the possibility of enabling legislation for counties. MACo opposed legislation limiting counties’ ability to regulate drone use in the 2015 legislative session. A drone was intercepted near a Maryland prison this summer.

For more information on the new FAA rule, see the full story from WBAL and the FAA’s Drone Registration site.