Office of Criminal Justice Grants
Drone Replacement Program (DRP)
The Florida Legislature amended S
ection 934.50, Florida Statutes during the 2022 session. The law required the Florida Department of Management Services (DMS) to establish a list of approved drone manufacturers for governmental entities. Governmental agencies using any drone not produced by an approved manufacturer must implement a plan to discontinue the use of such drone by January 1, 2023. In April of 2023, DMS published
Rule 60GG-2.0075, Florida Administrative Code, which archived the initial approved vendor list and published minimum security requirements for the purchase of drones by governmental agencies in Florida.
During the 2023 Legislative Session, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was appropriated approximately $25 million in nonrecurring funds to implement the Drone Replacement Grant Program under
Section 30 of Senate Bill 2502 (2023). This bill amends
Section 934.50(7), Florida Statutes and creates the Drone Replacement Grant program guidelines. Funds will be awarded to reimburse law enforcement agencies who relinquish noncompliant drones to FDLE that will be provided to the Florida Center for Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida (USF) to analyze if the drones present cybersecurity concerns.
Program Guidelines
This program is open to law enforcement agencies in the State of Florida. Participating agencies will be required to relinquish noncompliant drones to FDLE. The relinquished drones must be in working order and not have reached their end of life.
Drones purchased not in compliance with
Rule 60GG-2.0075, Florida Administrative Code, prior to January 1, 2022, will be reimbursed based on the number of flight hours as follows:
| # of Flight Hours |
Purchase Price Reimbursed |
| 0 - 25 |
100% |
| 26 - 50 |
90% |
| 51 - 100 |
80% |
| 101 - 150 |
70% |
| 151 - 200 |
60% |
| 201 - 250 |
50% |
| 251 - 300 |
40% |
| 301 - 400 |
30% |
| 401 - 500 |
20% |
| 501 - 800 |
10% |
| 801 |
0% |
Reimbursement Process
Funds under this program will be disbursed on a first-come, first-serve basis, determined by the date FDLE receives the following each of the following:
(1) Executed Drone Replacement Program Financial Assistance Agreement
In order to receive funds from this program, law enforcement agencies must review the
Drone Replacement Program Financial Assistance Agreement and have it executed by the Chief Official of the law enforcement agency (i.e. Sheriff, Police Chief). This serves as the submission of an application and also provides notification to FDLE that the agency will be relinquishing the drone(s). The executed agreement should be sent to
OCJGSFA@fdle.state.fl.us. Upon receipt, OCJG's Bureau Chief will sign the agreement and a copy will be provided back to the participating agency.
(2) Relinquishing of the Noncompliant Drones
The Recipient is responsible for relinquishing the noncompliant drone to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement at either Tallahassee Regional Operations Center or Tampa Bay Regional Operations Center. The completed and signed
Drone Certification Form (Appendix B), and any manufacturer operational manuals, must be provided to FDLE at the time the noncompliant drones are surrendered. The documentation required by the Drone Certification form (original invoice and proof of payment) must be emailed to
OCJGSFA@fdle.state.fl.us.
To facilitate this process, the Recipient
must schedule an appointment with the below FDLE contact for the appropriate location to relinquish the noncompliant drone in person. Appointments can be made at either location on Tuesdays (9:00 AM - 5:00PM EST) and Thursdays (1:00 PM - 5:00 PM EST).
Tallahassee (TROC)
2331 Phillips Road
Tallahassee, FL 32308 |
Tampa (TBROC)
4211 North Lois Avenue
Tampa, FL 33614 |
Point of Contact (POC)
Robert Lyons
850-410-7419
RobertLyons@fdle.state.fl.u
Alternate POC
Luke Johnson
LukeJohnson@fdle.state.fl.us |
Point of Contact (POC)
Corey Monaghan
813-878-7887
CoreyMonaghan@fdle.state.fl.us
Alternate POC
Richard Kaplan
RichardKaplan@fdle.state.fl.us |
(3) Submitting Documentation of Compliant Drone Purchase
Funds received under this program must be used to acquire a drone(s) that is compliant with
Rule 60GG-2.0075, Florida Administrative Code. The compliant drone must have a purchase date of January 1, 2022, or later. There are two options for submitting documentation related to the acquisition of a compliant drone.
- Option 1 = Reimbursement: The participating agency may use its own funds to purchase the compliant drone and provide documentation related to the purchase of the new drone including: purchase order, invoice, and proof of payment (cancelled check, bank/card statement, etc.). This method should be used for any agency who may have purchased a compliant replacement drone prior to this program being released.
- Option 2 = Cash Advance: Some agencies may not have the budget authority and funding to purchase the compliant drone. As a result, they may request a cash advance of the program funds. This will allow the participating agency to receive the funds and then pay for the drone. However, in order to qualify for this method of payment, the participating agency must provide a valid, executed purchase order and must be ready to order the drone immediately upon receipt of advanced funds. It is important to note, participating agencies MUST provide documentation of the invoice and proof of payment (cancelled check, bank/card statement, etc.) within 45 days of receiving the advanced funds. Any funds not expended on a compliant drone within 45 days must be refunded to FDLE.