SJR 18, as introduced, Wolk. Small unmanned aircraft systems.
This measure would request the President of the United States and the United States Secretary of Transportation to allow for the operation of small unmanned aircraft systems by farmers and rangeland managers pursuant to emergency rules adopted by the administration using its emergency powers, as specified.
Fiscal committee: no.
P1 1WHEREAS, In the western United States, water is a vital and
2scarce resource, the availability of which has and continues to
3circumscribe growth, development, economic well-being, and
4environmental quality of life; and
5WHEREAS, The wise use, conservation, development, and
6management of our water resources is critical to maintaining human
7life, health, safety, and property; and
8WHEREAS, The western United States is currently experiencing
9serious drought conditions that are predicted to worsen; and
10WHEREAS, Agricultural irrigation uses a significant amount
11of water, making the agricultural sector one of the most important
12sectors to examine when considering water conservation; and
P2 1WHEREAS, Even modest improvements in agricultural water
2use can result in significant amounts of water not being depleted
3regionwide, which can then be utilized elsewhere; and
4WHEREAS, Precision agricultural management studies have
5shown that farmers can reduce the amount of water, fertilizer, and
6pesticide needed by their fields by utilizing high-resolution,
7high-quality remotely sensed imagery to guide their application
8efforts of water, fertilizer, and pesticide; and
9WHEREAS, Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) have the
10capability to quickly provide expansive, high-resolution, and
11high-quality remotely sensed imagery that can measure specific
12bands in the solar spectrum, such as the thermal infrared band,
13which allows farmers to better understand and manage their water
14use; and
15WHEREAS, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is
16currently in the process of adopting rules for the usage of sUAS
17in agricultural management; and
18WHEREAS, Flights of sUAS, for the purposes of precision
19agricultural management, could occur safely at low altitudes, in
20rural areas removed from other air traffic and human populations,
21and in accordance with the FAA’s proposed guidelines; and
22WHEREAS, sUAS have been used in precision agricultural
23management in Japan for a decade, successfully optimizing and
24monitoring the management of 2.5 million acres of farmland, 40
25percent of which are rice fields, without any significant reported
26incidents; and
27WHEREAS, Flights of sUAS also have the capacity for detecting
28invasive plant species that deplete high amounts of water such as
29yellow star thistle, arundo, tamarisk, and cheatgrass, which serve
30no agricultural purpose and removal of which would help in water
31conservation efforts; and
32WHEREAS, The use of sUAS is an emerging technology and
33has great promise for the development of models that forecast and
34predict economic impacts of droughts and meteorological
35phenomena; now, therefore, be it
36Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
37California, jointly, That, due to the severity of the drought gripping
38the western United States, the California Legislature respectfully
39requests the President of the United States and the United States
40Secretary of Transportation, more specifically the FAA, to allow
P3 1for the operation of sUAS by farmers and rangeland managers
2pursuant to emergency rules adopted by the administration using
3its emergency powers and before the FAA rules for sUAS are
4finalized. The emergency rules should be based on the proposed
5FAA rules for sUAs that were released February 2015 and that
6incorporate all of the following:
7(a) That the emergency FAA rules for sUAS operation be
8applicable to counties located in the western portion of the United
9States that are projected to be in drought
during the current growing
10season, as defined by National Oceanic and Atmospheric
11Association’s Seasonal Drought Outlook.
12(b) That the emergency FAA rules for sUAS operation allow
13farmers to contract with sUAS flight service providers to execute
14missions on their behalf under the proposed FAA rules for sUAS.
15(c) That the emergency FAA rules for sUAS operations that
16allow universities and government agencies seeking to operate or
17procure providers for sUAS missions for drought-related research
18or precision management applications be given expedited approval.
19(d) That the emergency FAA rules for sUAS operation also
20allow farmers and rangeland managers to use sUAS imagery to
21detect highly water-depletive invasive species on their land or
22public lands that they manage; and be it further
23Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
24this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
25States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority
26Leader of the Senate, each Senator and Representative from
27California in the Congress of the United States, and the Federal
28Aviation Administration.
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