Law enforcement agencies in Michigan will speak out against state legislation to regulate the use of drones by police and other public agencies.

Rep. Tom McMillin is said to have sponsored the legislation and says that he is concerned about the privacy implications of the growing use of the unmanned aerial devices.

According to other sources, “We don’t want Big Brother flying over watching all our activity,” McMillin said.

McMillin’s two bills would allow the use of drones by public agencies, forbid the use of weapons on drones, require search warrants or court orders absent an emergency, and require public disclosure of information attained through the use of drones.

Robert Stevenson, executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, said the legislation isn’t necessary and it poses as too much of a restriction.

He confirmed that the only use of a drone by a Michigan police agency that he knows of is a flyover last year by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department during an incident involving a barricaded gunman in West Bloomfield.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard and the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association also oppose the legislation.

Stevenson said the courts and existing law already regulate the use of search technology such as drones. No Michigan police agencies are currently using them, but the state shouldn’t ban the arming of drones with tear gas or other weapons in circumstances where they might be needed, he said.

Since 2007, the Federal Aviation Administration has issued more than 1,400 certificates allowing drone use by police, universities and other public agencies.