BILL NUMBER: AB 737 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fox
FEBRUARY 21, 2013
An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 12100.1) to
Chapter 1.6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, relating to unmanned aircraft systems, and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 737, as introduced, Fox. Governor's Office of Business and
Economic Development: unmanned aircraft systems: test sites.
Existing federal law, the Federal Aviation Administration
Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, provides for the integration of
civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system by
September 30, 2015. Existing federal law requires the Administrator
of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop and implement
operational and certification requirements for the operation of
public unmanned aircraft systems in the national airspace system by
December 31, 2015. Existing federal law requires the administrator to
establish a program, as prescribed, to integrate unmanned aircraft
systems into the national airspace system at 6 test sites. Pursuant
to this requirement, the administrator announced a request for
proposals from state and local governments to establish these test
sites.
Existing law establishes the Governor's Office of Business and
Economic Development, under the control of a director who is
responsible to the Governor, to serve as the Governor's lead entity
for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues
relating to business development, private sector investment, and
economic growth. The office, among others, makes recommendations to
the Governor and the Legislature regarding policies, programs, and
actions to advance statewide economic goals.
This bill would require the director to prepare a proposal to
establish a test site in California and to consult with an advisory
commission and specified local governments in developing the
proposal. This bill would require a local government that submits a
proposal to the FAA to also send a copy of the proposal to specified
state entities, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. This
bill would require the director to submit the proposal to the FAA if
a local government does not submit a proposal to the FAA by a
specified date.
By requiring a local government to perform additional duties, this
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) California has experienced deeper and more sustained job
losses in the aerospace manufacturing industry than the rest of the
country has in this industry over the last two decades. From 1990
through 2012, payrolls in California's aerospace manufacturing
industry fell by 65.9 percent compared to a 34.6 percent decrease in
the rest of the country and a 43.7 percent decrease in the country as
a whole.
(b) In 2010, employment in California's aerospace manufacturing
industries totaled 109,700 jobs. Over three-fifths of these jobs were
in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing sector, and the
remainder were in the search, detection, guidance, aeronautical, and
nautical systems and instruments manufacturing sector. The aerospace
manufacturing industry paid wages totaling $10.7 billion in 2010.
Nearly three out of every ten jobs in the American guided missiles
and space vehicles manufacturing industry were located in California
in 2010.
(c) On February 14, 2012, President Obama signed into law the
Federal Aviation Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. The act
requires the Federal Aviation Administration to designate six sites
throughout the United States as unmanned aircraft systems test sites
in order to safely integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the
national airspace system.
(d) Unmanned aircraft systems represent one of the fastest growing
segments of the aerospace industry. Given the potential for
defense-related cutbacks currently under discussion at the national
level, it is in California's interest to pursue the location of an
unmanned aircraft systems test site in California.
(e) The expanded use of unmanned aircraft systems represents a
major step in aviation innovation and will present economic
opportunities for the communities that are selected for these test
sites and for the aerospace industry.
(f) A study conducted by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle
Systems International indicates that the industry has the potential
to create 100,000 jobs in the provision of unmanned aircraft in the
two largest markets for unmanned aircraft, namely agriculture and
public safety.
(g) California has a well-established and highly developed
aerospace industry that has a skilled and experienced workforce and a
tradition of entrepreneurship and innovation.
(h) California has a network of educational and research
institutions that has helped foster innovation in the aerospace
industry and develop a high technology sector.
(i) Aerospace manufacturing jobs are high-paying jobs providing
liveable wages that spur economic growth.
(j) The development of a coordinated proposal for California to
establish an unmanned aircraft systems test site can be accomplished
only by bringing together advocates, policymakers, industry, local
governments, and the public to address concerns, obtain information,
research issues, and evaluate alternative proposals.
SEC. 2. Article 7 (commencing with Section 12100.1) is added to
Chapter 1.6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, to read:
Article 7. Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Sites
12100.1. (a) The director shall prepare a proposal to establish
an unmanned aircraft systems test site in California according to the
directions contained in the Federal Aviation Administration's
Screening Information Request DTFACT-13-R-00002. The director shall
complete the preparation of this proposal no later than April 15,
2013.
(b) In preparing a proposal, the director shall consult with the
advisory commission established in Section 12100.2 and with local
governments that have demonstrated an interest in establishing a test
site.
12100.2. (a) The Advisory Commission on Unmanned Aircraft Systems
is hereby established to advise the director on a proposal to
establish a test site in California.
(b) The commission shall consist of nine members who shall be
appointed as follows:
(1) The Office of Planning and Research shall appoint one member
from its agency.
(2) The Military Department shall appoint one member from its
agency.
(3) The Department of Veterans Affairs shall appoint one member
from its agency.
(4) The Employment Development Department shall appoint one member
from its agency.
(5) The Department of Transportation shall appoint one member from
its agency.
(6) The director shall appoint four representatives from the
aerospace industry as follows:
(A) One member who is employed by an aerospace company in a
capacity relating to supply chain management.
(B) One member from an aerospace company that conducts its
business internationally.
(C) One member from an aerospace company that has its headquarters
in California.
(D) One member from the California Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Portal Consortium.
12100.3. A local government that submits a proposal to establish
a test site to the Federal Aviation Administration shall also send a
copy of the proposal to the director, the Governor, the Assembly
Select Committee on Aerospace, and the Senate Committee on Energy,
Utilities and Communications.
12100.4. If a local government does not submit a proposal to the
Federal Aviation Administration by April 15, 2013, the director shall
submit the proposal developed pursuant to Section 12100.1 to the
Federal Aviation Administration on or before May 6, 2013.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
SEC. 4. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to develop a coordinated proposal to establish an
unmanned aircraft systems test site in California before the deadline
set by the Federal Aviation Administration, it is necessary that
this act take effect immediately.