Montana Public Safety Grants

Montana’s Drone Evidence Rule

MCA § 46-5-109 says drone information is inadmissible in a Montana prosecution or proceeding unless obtained under a search warrant, a judicially recognized warrant exception, or investigation of a motor vehicle crash scene on or involving a public roadway. It also limits use of such information in an affidavit of probable cause.

Build mission logging, warrant/exception documentation, evidence integrity, access controls and retention into the UAS program. The statute concerns evidence; it is not a brand ban.

Low-Altitude Trespass and Wildfires

MCA § 45-6-210, enacted in 2025, makes knowingly flying at or below 200 feet over another person’s property or residence without authorization a criminal trespass offense, subject to specified exceptions. These include government and tribal public-safety, firefighting, law-enforcement and emergency-response operations, peace officers acting under § 46-5-109, and other listed uses.

MCA § 76-13-214 prohibits interference with lawful aerial wildfire suppression, with a public-safety governmental exception. Coordinate incident airspace and follow FAA requirements even when a state-law exception applies.

Separate the Purchaser’s Policy from State Law

Montana State University’s published 2026 UAS policy allows its purchases from its referenced Blue UAS Cleared List or after its own UAS Committee approves a model as compliant. It also addresses university flight approval and data handling. That policy governs MSU; it does not establish a universal procurement rule for cities, counties or tribes.

The prior page asserted an active SITSD DJI/Autel ban with phaseout for state agencies. A public primary-source policy establishing its operative text and scope was not located in this review. State agency buyers should ask their procurement and IT offices for the current written rule; local and tribal buyers should consult their own policies.

Federal Country-of-Origin and Supply-Chain Tests

OMB M-26-02 Appendix D implements the American Security Drone Act restriction on federal award funds used to procure or in connection with operating a FASC-prohibited UAS since December 22, 2025, subject to stated exemptions and waivers. Receiving a federal award does not automatically bar every locally funded flight, but locally purchasing a drone does not permit charging an ineligible operation to federal funds.

Section 889, TAA clauses where applicable, FCC equipment authorizations and Covered List, ASDA and Blue UAS vetting have different scopes. Document the actual aircraft, payload, controller, communications, software and cloud services.

BJA Approval and Montana Cyber Funding

BJA permits purchases of UAS under its awards only with express prior approval and certification. Its guidance calls for Blue UAS Cleared List verification, Commerce screening, limitations on modifications and federal information, and sufficient privacy, civil-liberties and IT cybersecurity policies. Counter-UAS has a separate approval and legal-authority path.

Montana DES’s SLCGP serves eligible local governments through five focus areas: awareness training, professional development, endpoint detection and response, network traffic monitoring, and MFA. It is a cybersecurity path, not a general drone acquisition program. Specify access, encryption, retention, patching, cloud routing and incident response for any surveillance purchase.

Practical Montana UAS Procurement Checklist

1. 1Define buyer, funds and mission. Identify state, local, tribal and federal participants; map purchase, maintenance and mission charges to each award.
2. 2Verify the applicable purchaser policy. State agency, MSU, local and tribal policies can differ; obtain the controlling purchasing and IT requirements in writing.
3. 3Preserve evidentiary authority. If footage may support a prosecution or warrant affidavit, document the warrant, recognized exception or roadway-crash basis under § 46-5-109.
4. 4Plan the flight. Review § 45-6-210 exceptions, wildfire response coordination, FAA airspace, pilot authority and site-specific permissions.
5. 5Screen the entire system. Record the aircraft, payload, controller, radios, firmware, cloud path and vendors, and check the live lists and contract clauses that apply.
6. 6Apply award restrictions. For federally funded procurement or operation, review ASDA / OMB M-26-02 Appendix D and any available exemption or waiver.
7. 7Approve and secure the project. Obtain express BJA approval before a BJA-funded UAS purchase; set access, encryption, retention, patching and incident procedures.

Justice and Investigations

MBCC’s FY2027 JAG round was for multi-jurisdictional drug task forces and closed June 26, 2026. Direct BJA Local JAG has its own listed jurisdiction allocations and federal award terms. An allocation is a formula amount, not an award or product approval.

Homeland Security and Wildfire Response

DES’s open SHSP prioritizes state, tribal and local preparedness projects with a terrorism nexus. Fire and emergency management agencies should use the relevant FEMA or DES notice and coordinate wildfire airspace. The grant administrator must approve any proposed aircraft or camera costs.

Traffic, EMS and Cyber

MDT mini-grants and STEP focus on road-safety enforcement; its EMS grants cover specified vehicles and patient-care, training or communication equipment. DES SLCGP offers defined cyber services and awards. Match the project to the actual focus area before preparing an equipment quote.