BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1662
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB
1662 (Chau)
As Enrolled September 9, 2016
2/3 vote
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |67-2 |(May 19, 2016) |SENATE: |34-3 |(August 31, |
| | | | | |2016) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |73-2 |(August 31, | | | |
| | |2016) | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: P. & C.P.
SUMMARY: Protects people from "hit and run" unmanned aircraft
system (UAS) accidents by requiring hobbyist UAS operators to
provide their name and address along with valid identification
to the victim and police at the scene of a UAS accident.
AB 1662
Page 2
The Senate amendments:
1)Reduce the penalty provision from a misdemeanor to either an
infraction or a misdemeanor, and require a violation to be
committed "knowingly" for the penalty to apply.
2)Clarify that the exemption for commercial UAS applies to all
commercial UAS operators who operate according to a Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) commercial operator
authorization or an FAA commercial operator rule.
3)Require commercial operators who are not operating according
to an FAA commercial operator authorization or an FAA
commercial operator rule to comply with the bill by providing
the name and address of the employer or place of business.
4)Require law enforcement to comply with the notice requirements
in the bill unless doing so would put individuals at risk of
further injury or property at risk of further damage.
5)Specify that a hobbyist UAS operator who is participating in
an organized sport, league or club must comply with the bill
if a UAS accident results in personal injury, damage to
property (other than UAS involved in the sport), or damage to
other property not owned or controlled by a participant or
organizer of the sport, league or club.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Requires, under the federal FAA Modernization and Reform Act
of 2012 (Act), the FAA to integrate safely UAS operation into
the national airspace system and to develop and implement
AB 1662
Page 3
certification requirements for the operation of UAS in the
national airspace system. (Public Law 112-95)
2)Requires, under the Act, commercial operators to obtain a
special Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) to fly
until the FAA promulgates rules governing commercial UAS
flight. UAS COAs typically require reporting to the FAA
within 24 hours of UAS accidents involving injury or property
damage. (Public Law 112-95, Sections 333 and 334)
3)Allows, under the new FAA Small Unmanned Aircraft Rule (Part
107) for commercial UAS operators, as of August 29, 2016,
commercial operators to operate UAS over unpopulated areas and
requires accidents involving serious injury, loss of
consciousness or property damage of $500 to be reported to the
FAA within 10 days. (14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Part 107)
4)Requires, under FAA rules for hobbyist UAS operators, as of
February 19, 2016, federal registration of a UAS before first
flight outdoors, for any UAS weighing more than 0.55 pounds
(250 grams) and less than 55 pounds (approx. 25 kilos),
including payloads such as on-board cameras, and requires UAS
owners to be at least 13 years old to register and to provide
name, address, and email. Upon registration, UAS owners
receive a Certificate of Aircraft Registration/Proof of
Ownership along with a unique identification number, which
must be marked or affixed to the UAS. (14 CFR Parts 1, 45,
47, 48, 91, and 375)
5)Requires the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident
resulting in personal injury to stop at the scene of the
accident and provide to the injured person and police: a)
driver's name and address; b) name and address of any injured
passenger; c) registration number of the vehicle; d) name and
AB 1662
Page 4
address of the vehicle owner (if different from the driver);
and e) valid identification, if requested. (Vehicle Code (VC)
Sections 20001, 20003, 20004)
6)Requires the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident
resulting only in property damage to stop and: a) locate and
notify the owner of the property; b) provide name and address;
c) and present identification, if requested. If the property
owner cannot be found, then the driver must leave a note on
the damaged property with name and address along with a
statement of the circumstances of the accident and notify the
police. (VC 20002)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Rule 28.8, any
additional state costs are not significant and do not and will
not require the appropriation of additional state funds, and the
bill will cause no significant reduction in revenues.
COMMENTS: This bill seeks to protect people who are injured or
whose property is damaged in a UAS (or "drone") accident by
requiring hobbyist UAS operators to provide - at the scene of
the accident - their name and address along with valid
identification to the victim and to the police. Similar to
California's vehicular "hit and run" law, if the accident
involves property damage and the owner cannot be found, the bill
requires UAS operators to leave their contact information on the
damaged property. This bill is designed to help victims and
local law enforcement resolve injury and damage accidents that
occur when a hobbyist UAS hits a person or a person's property.
The FAA has previously stated that laws traditionally related to
state and local police power - including land use, zoning,
privacy, trespass, and law enforcement operations - generally
are not subject to federal regulation or preemption.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
AB 1662
Page 5
I am returning Assembly Bill 1662 without my signature.
This bill requires hobbyist drone operators to provide, at the
scene of an accident caused by their drone, their name and home
address along with valid identification.
Rather than creating a new misdemeanor crime, I believe it would
be fairer and more effective to explore a more comprehensive
approach that takes into account federal regulations on this
subject. Piecemeal is not the way to go.
Analysis Prepared by:
Jennie Bretschneider / P. & C.P. / (916)
319-2200
FN: 0005123