Amended in Assembly September 10, 2015

Amended in Senate August 24, 2015

Amended in Senate August 17, 2015

Senate Bill No. 168

Introduced by Senators Gaines and Jackson

(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Gatto)

(Coauthors: Senators Anderson, Bates, Berryhill, Cannella, Fuller, Huff, begin insert Leno, end insert McGuire, Morrell, Nielsen, Roth, begin delete and end delete Runner begin insert , and Stone end insert )

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brown, Chávez, Cooper, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Jones, Lackey, Mathis, begin insert Mayes, end insert Obernolte, and Rodriguez)

February 5, 2015

An act begin insert to add Section 43.101 to the Civil Code, end insert to add Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 853) to Part 2 of Division 3.6 of Title 1 of the Government Code, and to add Section 402.5 to the Penal Code, relating to unmanned aircraft systems, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 168, as amended, Gaines. Unmanned aircraft systems.

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Existing

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begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Existing end insert law makes it a misdemeanor to engage in disorderly conduct that delays or prevents a fire from being timely extinguished or to resist or interfere with the lawful efforts of a firefighter in the discharge of an official duty. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to impede police officers, firefighters, emergency personnel, or military personnel in the performance of their duties in coping with an emergency.

This bill would make it unlawful to knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly operate an unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system, as defined, in a manner that prevents or delays the extinguishment of a fire, or in any way interferes with the efforts of firefighters to control, contain, or extinguish a fire. The bill would make a violation of this prohibition punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed 6 months, by a fine not to exceed $5,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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The

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(2) Existing law provides certain individuals with immunity from civil liability under specific circumstances, including, among others, limiting the civil liability of a person who in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency medical or nonmedical care at the scene of an emergency, as specified.

end insert begin insert

This bill would further limit the exposure to civil liability of an emergency responder, defined as an unpaid volunteer or private entity acting within the scope of authority implicitly or expressly provided by a public entity or a public employee to provide emergency services, for damages to an unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system, if the damage was caused while the emergency responder was performing specific emergency services and the unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system was interfering with the provision of those emergency services.

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begin insert (3) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The end insert Government Claims Act sets forth the general procedure for the presentation of a claim as a prerequisite to the commencement of an action for money or damages against a “public entity” or a “public employee,” and defines those terms for its purposes. The act prohibits liability against a public entity or public employee for, among other things, certain acts relating to the provision of fire protection and police and correctional activities, as specified.

This bill would further limit the exposure to begin insert civil end insert liability begin delete by an emergency responder, defined to include end delete begin insert of end insert a public begin delete entity, end delete begin insert entity or end insert public begin delete employee, and an unpaid volunteer, as specified, end delete begin insert employee end insert for begin delete damages end delete begin insert damage end insert to an begin insert unmanned aircraft or end insert unmanned aircraft system, if the damage was caused while the begin delete emergency responder end delete begin insert public entity or public employee end insert was performing specific emergency services and the begin insert unmanned aircraft or end insert unmanned aircraft system was interfering with the provision of those emergency services.

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The

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begin insert (4) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The end insert California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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This

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begin insert (5) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert This end insert bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 43.101 is added to the end insert begin insert Civil Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

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begin insert 43.101. end insert   

(a) An emergency responder shall not be liable for
any damage to an unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system,
if the damage was caused while the emergency responder was
providing, and the unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system
was interfering with, the operation, support, or enabling of the
emergency services listed in Section 853 of the Government Code.

(b) (1) For purposes of this section, “emergency responder”
means either of the following, if acting within the scope of authority
implicitly or expressly provided by a public entity or a public
employee to provide emergency services:

(A) A paid or unpaid volunteer.

(B) A private entity.

(2) All of the following terms shall have the same meaning as
the terms as used in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 853)
of Part 2 of Division 3.6 of Title 1 of the Government Code:

(A) Public employee.

(B) Public entity.

(C) Unmanned aircraft.

(D) Unmanned aircraft system.

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begin delete SECTION 1. end delete
begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 853) is added
to Part 2 of Division 3.6 of Title 1 of the Government Code, to
read:

 

Chapter  4.5. begin delete Emergency Responders end delete begin insert Unmanned Aircraft end insert

 

853.  

begin delete An emergency responder end delete begin insert A public entity or public
employee end insert shall not be liable for any damage to an begin insert unmanned
aircraft or end insert unmanned aircraft system, if the damage was caused
while the begin delete emergency responder end delete begin insert public entity or public employee end insert
was providing, and the begin insert unmanned aircraft or end insert unmanned aircraft
system was interfering with, the operation, support, or enabling
of any of the following emergency services:

(a)  begin delete Ambulance end delete begin insert Emergency medical services or ambulance
transport end insert services, including, but not limited to, air ambulance
services.

(b) Firefighting or firefighting-related services, including, but
not limited to, air services related to firefighting or
firefighting-related services.

(c) Search and rescue services, including, but not limited to, air
search and rescue services.

853.5.  

The following definitions shall apply to this chapter:

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(a) “Emergency responder” means a public entity, a public
employee, or an unpaid volunteer, acting within the scope of
authority implicitly or expressly provided by a public entity or
public employee to respond to an emergency situation.

(b)

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begin insert (a) end insert  “Unmanned aircraft” means an aircraft that is operated
without the possibility of direct human intervention from within
or on the aircraft.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert  “Unmanned aircraft system” means an unmanned aircraft
and associated elements, including, but not limited to,
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.

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begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

Section 402.5 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

402.5.  

(a) It is unlawful to knowingly, intentionally, or
recklessly operate an unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft
system in a manner that prevents or delays the extinguishment of
a fire, or in any way interferes with the efforts of firefighters to
control, contain, or extinguish a fire, including, but not limited to,
efforts to control, contain, or extinguish the fire from the air. A
violation of this section is punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail not to exceed six months, by a fine not to exceed five thousand
dollars ($5,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.

(b) (1) For purposes of this section, “unmanned aircraft” means
an aircraft that is operated without the possibility of direct human
intervention from within or on the aircraft.

(2) For purposes of this section, “unmanned aircraft system”
means an unmanned aircraft and associated elements, including,
but not limited to, communication links and the components that
control the unmanned aircraft that are required for the individual
in command to operate safely and efficiently in the national
airspace system.

(3) For purposes of this section, “recklessly” means a person is
aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable
risk that his or her act will prevent or delay the extinguishment of
a fire, or in any way interfere with the efforts of firefighters to
control, contain, or extinguish a fire, including, but not limited to,
efforts to control, contain, or extinguish the fire from the air. The
risk shall be of such nature and degree that disregard of that risk
constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a
reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person who
creates such a risk but is unaware of that risk solely by reason of
voluntary intoxication also acts recklessly for purposes of this
section.

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begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

begin delete SEC. 4. end delete
begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

To address the interference of unmanned aircraft begin insert and unmanned
aircraft systems end insert with efforts to fight fires and to keep fires from
raging out of control during this historic drought, and to protect
begin insert public and private end insert emergency responders who are providing
specific critical emergency services from potential civil liability
relating to the new and increasing proliferation of unmanned
aircraft systems that disrupt the provision of those emergency
services, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.