BILL NUMBER: SB 142 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 30, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 3, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 14, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Jackson
( Principal coauthor: Assembly Member
Calderon )
JANUARY 26, 2015
An act to add Section 1708.83 to the Civil Code, and to
amend Section 21012 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to
civil law.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 142, as amended, Jackson. Civil law: unmanned aerial vehicles.
Existing federal law, the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of
2012, provides for the integration of civil unmanned aircraft
systems, commonly known as drones, into the national airspace system
by September 30, 2015. Existing federal law requires the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to develop and
implement operational and certification requirements for the
operation of public unmanned aircraft systems in the national
airspace system by December 31, 2015.
Existing law imposes liability for physical invasion of privacy,
if a person knowingly enters onto the land of another without
permission or otherwise commits a trespass in order to capture any
image or recording of the plaintiff engaging in a private activity
and the invasion is offensive to a reasonable person.
This bill would define knowing entry upon the land of another also
to include operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle below the
navigable airspace overlaying the real property or operation of an
unmanned aerial vehicle less than 350 feet above ground level within
the airspace overlaying the real property, without the consent of the
landowner or without legal authority.
Existing law deems the detriment caused by wrongful occupation of
real property to be the value of the use of the property for the time
of the wrongful occupation, the reasonable cost of repair or
restoration of the property, and the costs of recovering the
possession.
This bill would extend liability for wrongful occupation of real
property and damages to a person who operates an unmanned
aerial vehicle below the navigable airspace overlaying the real
property or operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle
aircraft or unmanned aircraft system, as defined, less than 350
feet above ground level within the airspace overlaying the real
property, without the consent of the landowner
express permission of the person or entity with the legal
authority to grant access or without legal authority.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1708.83 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
1708.83. (a) A person knowingly enters onto the land of another
person pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1708.8 if, without the
consent of the landowner or without legal authority, he or she does
either of the following:
(1) Operates an unmanned aerial vehicle below the navigable
airspace, as defined in paragraph (32) of subsection (a) of Section
40102 of Title 49 of the United States Code, overlaying the real
property.
(2) Operates an unmanned aerial vehicle less than 350 feet above
ground level within the airspace overlaying the real property.
(b) A person wrongfully occupies real property and is liable for
damages pursuant to Section 3334 if, without the consent of the
landowner or without legal authority, he or she does either of the
following:
(1) Operates an unmanned aerial vehicle below the navigable
airspace, as defined in paragraph (32) of subsection (a) of Section
40102 of Title 49 of the United States Code, overlaying the real
property.
(2) Operates an unmanned aerial vehicle less than 350 feet above
ground level within the airspace overlaying the real property.
1708.83. (a) A person wrongfully occupies real
property and is liable for damages pursuant to Section 3334 if,
without express permission of the person or entity with the legal
authority to grant access or without legal authority, he or she
operates an unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system less than
350 feet above ground level within the airspace overlaying the real
property.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Unmanned aircraft" means an aircraft that is operated without
the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the
aircraft.
(2) "Unmanned aircraft system" means an unmanned aircraft and
associated elements, including communication links and the components
that control the unmanned aircraft, that are required for the pilot
in command to operate safely and efficiently in the national airspace
system.
(3)
(c) This section shall not be construed to impair or
limit any otherwise lawful activities of law enforcement personnel or
employees of governmental agencies or other public or private
entities that may have the right to enter land by operating an
unmanned aerial vehicle unmanned aircraft or
unmanned aircraft system within the airspace overlaying the
real property of another, including the right to use private lands
acquired pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 1009.
(d) Nothing in this section is intended to limit the rights and
defenses available at common law under a claim of liability for
wrongful occupation of real property.
SEC. 2. Section 21012 of the Public
Utilities Code is amended to read:
21012. "Aircraft" means any manned contrivance used or designed
for navigation of, or flight in, the air requiring certification and
registration as prescribed by federal statute or regulation.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, manned
lighter-than-air balloons and ultralight vehicles as defined in the
regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration (14 C.F.R. Part
103), whether or not certificated by the Federal Aviation
Administration, shall not be considered to be aircraft for purposes
of this part. "Aircraft" shall not include an unmanned aircraft
that is operated without the possibility of direct human intervention
from within or on the aircraft.