BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1680| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1680 Author: Rodriguez (D) Amended: 5/5/16 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/21/16 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/9/16 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Crimes: emergency personnel SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill makes it a misdemeanor to use a drone to impede specified emergency personnel in the performance of their duties while coping with an emergency. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)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. (Penal Code § 148 (a).) 2)Specifies that the fact that a person takes a photograph or makes an audio or video recording of a public officer or peace AB 1680 Page 2 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. (Penal Code § 148 (g).) 3)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; (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. (Penal Code § 148.2) 4)Provides that 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. (Military & Veterans Code § 396.) 5)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. (Penal Code § 402 (a).) AB 1680 Page 3 6)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 official duty, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Penal Code § 402 (b).) 7)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. (Penal Code § 402(c).) This bill amends Penal Code Section 402 to state that a person subject to this section shall include a person, regardless of his or her location, who operates or uses an unmanned aerial vehicle, remote piloted aircraft, or drone that is at the scene of an emergency. 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 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 AB 1680 Page 4 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. Last year the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency management and the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on drones in California. While the use of drones has been presenting increasing numbers of problems and difficulties, many of those testifying recommended moving slowly to see what the Federal Aviation Administration's response would be in regulating unmanned aerial vehicles. AB 1680 is a modest step in ensuring that drones do not interfere with law enforcement, fire fighters and emergency personnel. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes SUPPORT: (Verified8/2/16) Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs California Association of Air Medical Services California Fire Chiefs Association California Police Chiefs Association California Special Districts Association California State Sheriffs' Association California Statewide Law Enforcement Association East Bay Regional Park District Fire Districts Association of California Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Los Angeles Police Protective League Los Angeles Professional Peace Officers Association Riverside Sheriffs' Association AB 1680 Page 5 OPPOSITION: (Verified8/2/16) Legal Services for Prisoners with Children ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/9/16 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines, Eduardo Garcia Prepared by:Mary Kennedy / PUB. 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