BILL NUMBER: AB 1724	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Waldron

                        JANUARY 28, 2016

   An act to add Division 16.8 (commencing with Section 39100) to the
Vehicle Code, relating to unmanned aircraft.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1724, as introduced, Waldron. Unmanned aircraft: identification
requirements.
   Existing federal law, the Federal Aviation Administration
Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, provides for the integration of
civil and public unmanned aircraft systems, commonly known as
drones, into the national airspace system. Existing federal law
generally requires an aircraft to be registered with the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA), prohibits a person from operating a
United States registered aircraft unless that aircraft displays
specified nationality and registration marks, and, unless authorized
by the FAA, prohibits a person from placing on any aircraft a design,
mark, or symbol that modifies or confuses those nationality and
registration marks.
   This bill would require, beginning January 1, 2017, a person or
public or private entity that owns or operates an unmanned aircraft,
as defined, to place specified identifying information or digitally
store identifying information on that unmanned aircraft. The bill
would exempt model aircraft, as defined, from that requirement. The
bill would make a person or entity that violates that provision
liable for a civil fine not to exceed $2,500. The bill would
authorize the Attorney General, a district attorney, county counsel,
or a city attorney to bring an action to recover that fine, as
specified.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Division 16.8 (commencing with Section 39100) is added
to the Vehicle Code, to read:

      DIVISION 16.8  Unmanned Aircraft


   39100.  For the purposes of this division, both of the following
definitions shall apply:
   (a) "Unmanned aircraft" means an aircraft that is operated without
the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the
aircraft.
   (b) "Model aircraft" means an unmanned aircraft that is all of the
following:
   (1) Capable of sustained flight in the atmosphere.
   (2) Flown within visual line of sight of the person operating the
aircraft.
   (3) Flown strictly for hobby or recreational purposes.
   (4) Does not weigh more than 55 pounds.
   39101.  (a) Beginning January 1, 2017, a person or public or
private entity that owns or operates an unmanned aircraft that is not
a model aircraft within this state shall do any of the following:
   (1) Legibly and permanently affix, stamp, or mark on the unmanned
aircraft, in a size that can be read by the naked eye without the use
of magnification, identifying information that indicates each of the
following:
   (A) The name of the owner of the unmanned aircraft.
   (B) The residential or business address of the owner of the
unmanned aircraft.
   (C) The telephone number of the owner of the unmanned aircraft.
   (2) Store the information specified in paragraph (1) in a digital
format on the unmanned aircraft. The digital information shall be
stored in a manner that is readily accessible and retrievable.
   (3) Legibly and permanently affix, stamp, or mark on the unmanned
aircraft, in a size that can be read by the naked eye without the use
of magnification, an address for an active Internet Web site that
lists the information specified in paragraph (1).
   (b) If a person or public or private entity that owns or operates
an unmanned aircraft affixes, stamps, or marks on the unmanned
aircraft pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the person or
public or private entity shall do so in a way that does not modify or
confuse the nationality or registration marks required by the
Federal Aviation Administration.
   39102.  A person or public or private entity that violates the
provisions of Section 39101 shall be liable for a civil fine not to
exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500). A proceeding to
recover the civil fines specified in this section may be brought in
any court of competent jurisdiction by the Attorney General, a
district attorney, county counsel, or a city attorney. Revenue from
any fines collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into
the general fund for the city, county, or city and county, that
brought the case, or, if brought by the Attorney General, the General
Fund of this state.
   39103.  This division is not intended to conflict with or
supersede federal law, including rules and regulations of the Federal
Aviation Administration.