BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1680
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1680 (Rodriguez)
As Introduced January 19, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public Safety |7-0 |Jones-Sawyer, | |
| | |Melendez, Lackey, | |
| | |Lopez, Low, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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AB 1680
Page 2
SUMMARY: Makes it a misdemeanor to use a drone to impede
specified emergency personnel in the performance of their duties
while coping with an emergency. Specifically, this bill:
1)Amends existing statute which makes it a misdemeanor for a
person to go to, or stop at, the scene of an emergency and
impedes police officers, firefighters, emergency medical, or
other emergency personnel, or military personnel in the
performance of their emergency duties.
2)Specifies that a person shall include a person who operates or
uses an unmanned aerial vehicle, remote piloted aircraft, or
drone.
EXISTING LAW:
1)States that every person who goes to the scene of an
emergency, or stops at the scene of an emergency, for the
purpose of viewing the scene or the activities of police
officers, firefighters, emergency medical, or other emergency
personnel, or military personnel coping with the emergency in
the course of their duties during the time it is necessary for
emergency vehicles or those personnel to be at the scene of
the emergency or to be moving to or from the scene of the
emergency for the purpose of protecting lives or property,
unless it is part of the duties of that person's employment to
view that scene or activities, and thereby impedes police
officers, firefighters, emergency medical, or other emergency
personnel or military personnel, in the performance of their
duties in coping with the emergency, is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
2)Provides that every person who knowingly resists or interferes
with the lawful efforts of a lifeguard in the discharge or
attempted discharge of an official duty in an emergency
situation, when the person knows or reasonably should know
that the lifeguard is engaged in the performance of his or her
AB 1680
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official duty, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
3)Specifies that "emergency" includes a condition or situation
involving injury to persons, damage to property, or peril to
the safety of persons or property, which results from a fire,
an explosion, an airplane crash, flooding, windstorm damage, a
railroad accident, a traffic accident, a power plant accident,
a toxic chemical or biological spill, or any other natural or
human-caused event.
4)States that every person who willfully resists, delays, or
obstructs any public officer, peace officer, or an emergency
medical technician, as specified, in the discharge or attempt
to discharge any duty of his or her office or employment, is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
5)Specifies that the fact that a person takes a photograph or
makes an audio or video recording of a public officer or peace
officer, while the officer is in a public place or the person
taking the photograph or making the recording is in a place he
or she has the right to be, does not constitute, in and of
itself, a violation of resisting, delaying or obstructing an
officer, nor does it constitute reasonable suspicion to detain
the person or probable cause to arrest the person.
6)States that every person who willfully commits any of the
following acts at the burning of a building or at any other
time and place where any fireman or firemen or emergency
rescue personnel are discharging or attempting to discharge an
official duty, is guilty of a misdemeanor:
a) Resists or interferes with the lawful efforts of any
fireman or firemen or emergency rescue personnel in the
discharge or attempt to discharge an official duty;
AB 1680
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b) Disobeys the lawful orders of any fireman or public
officer;
c) Engages in any disorderly conduct which delays or
prevents a fire from being timely extinguished; or
d) Forbids or prevents others from assisting in
extinguishing a fire or exhorts another person, as to whom
he has no legal right or obligation to protect or control,
from assisting in extinguishing a fire.
7)Specifies that as used in specified code sections, "fireman"
or "firefighter" includes "any person who is an officer,
employee or member of a fire department or fire protection or
firefighting agency of the federal government, the State of
California, a city, county, city and county, district, or
other public or municipal corporation or political subdivision
of this state, whether this person is a volunteer or partly
paid or fully paid."
8)Specifies that, "emergency rescue personnel" means "any person
who is an officer, employee or member of a fire department or
fire protection or firefighting agency of the federal
government, the State of California, a city, county, city and
county, district, or other public or municipal corporation or
political subdivision of this state, whether this person is a
volunteer or partly paid or fully paid, while he or she is
actually engaged in the on-the-site rescue of persons or
property during an emergency" as specified.
9)"Emergency Medical Technician-I" or "EMT-I" means an
individual trained in all facets of basic life support
according to standards prescribed by this part and who has a
valid certificate issued pursuant to this part. This
definition shall include, but not be limited to, EMT-I (FS)
and EMT-I-A.
AB 1680
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10)"Emergency Medical Technician-II", "EMT-II," "Advanced
Emergency Medical Technician," or "Advanced EMT" means "an
EMT-I with additional training in limited advanced life
support according to standards prescribed by this part and who
has a valid certificate issued pursuant to this part."
11)"Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic," "EMT-P,"
"paramedic" or "mobile intensive care paramedic" means "an
individual whose scope of practice to provide advanced life
support is according to standards prescribed by this division
and who has a valid certificate issued pursuant to this
division."
12)Any person who hinders, delays, or obstructs any portion of
the militia parading or performing any military duty, or who
attempts so to do, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
13)Specifies that the militia of the State shall consist of the
National Guard, State Military Reserve and the Naval Militia.
FISCAL
EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
minor non-reimbursable costs to cities and counties for
enforcement, offset to some extent by fine revenues.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "Recently in California a
pilot flying a helicopter with seven firefighters on board who
were battling a blaze threatening nearby homes, saw a four-rotor
drone only 10 feet from his windshield. This forced him to make
a hard left to avoid a collision about 500 feet above ground.
In another incident, the sighting of five drones in the area of
a wildfire that closed Interstate 15 in Southern California and
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destroyed numerous vehicles, grounded air tanker crews for 20
minutes as flames spread.
The unregulated and irresponsible use of drones is placing
Californians, our firefighters and emergency response personnel
in increasing danger.
"The existing Penal Code section dealing with interfering with
police, fire and EMTs does not specifically state that the crime
can be committed by using a drone. By clarifying existing law,
police, fire and EMTs will be able to tell drone operators that
the use of an unmanned aircraft that interferes with their
official activities is a crime and that they must discontinue
their use or face being charged.
"Unmanned aircraft or the use of a drone is an emerging industry
and technology that is rapidly gaining in popularity. The sheer
numbers of drones is creating problems and concerns about how
and where they should be used and it is only now that they are
being regulated by the FAA. AB 1680 recognizes the fact that
drones will need additional federal and state regulation but
takes a common sense intermediate approach to doing so."
Analysis Prepared by:
David Billingsley/ PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0002764
AB 1680
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