BILL NUMBER: SB 170	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 11, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Gaines

                        FEBRUARY 5, 2015

   An act to  amend Section 46 of   add Sections
4577, 4578, and 4579 to  the  Civil  
Penal  Code, relating to  civil law.  
unmanned aircraft systems. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 170, as amended, Gaines.  Personal rights. 
 Unmanned aircraft systems: correctional facilities.  
   Existing federal law, the Federal Aviation Administration
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 state law generally prohibits a person from bringing,
possessing, distributing, or selling certain devices and substances,
including, among other things, alcoholic beverages, controlled
substances, and deadly weapons, in state prison or a jail. Existing
law also prohibits unauthorized communication with inmates in state
prison or a jail. Existing law provides criminal penalties for
violations of these provisions.  
   This bill would make a person who uses an unmanned aircraft
system, as defined, to commit a violation of those provisions, guilty
of a felony, and would require the imposition of a sentence of one
year of imprisonment in addition to any other penalty provided by
law.  
   This bill would make a person who knowingly and intentionally
operates an unmanned aircraft system below the navigable airspace
overlaying a state prison guilty of a misdemeanor. The bill would
also make a person who knowingly and intentionally captures images or
data of a state prison through the operation of an unmanned aircraft
system guilty of a misdemeanor. The bill would make these
misdemeanor provisions inapplicable to a person employed by the
prison acting within the scope of his or her employment, or a person
who receives prior permission from the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.  
   The 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.  
   Existing law defines "slander" as a false and unprivileged
publication, communicated orally or by radio, mechanical, or other
means, which causes specified damages.  
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to this
provision. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program:  no
  yes  .


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

   SECTION 1.    Section 4577 is added to the  
Penal Code   , to read:  
   4577.  (a) (1) When a person uses an unmanned aircraft system to
commit a violation of this chapter, the person is guilty of a felony
and a sentence of one year of imprisonment shall be imposed in
addition to any other penalty provided by law.
   (2) This subdivision does not apply to a violation of Section 4578
or 4579.
   (b) For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

   (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, 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. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 4578 is added to the  
Penal Code   , to read:  
   4578.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a person who
knowingly and intentionally operates an unmanned aircraft system
below the navigable airspace, as defined in Section 42102 of Title 49
of the United States Code, overlaying a state prison is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
   (b) This section does not apply to a person employed by the prison
who operates the unmanned aircraft system within the scope of his or
her employment, or a person who receives prior permission from the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to operate the unmanned
aircraft system. 
   SEC. 3.    Section 4579 is added to the  
Penal Code   , to read:  
   4579.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a person who
knowingly and intentionally captures images or data of a state prison
through the operation of an unmanned aircraft system is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
   (b) This section does not apply to a person employed by the prison
who captures images or data of a state prison through the operation
of an unmanned aircraft system within the scope of his or her
employment, or a person who receives prior permission from the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to capture images or
data of a state prison through the operation of an unmanned aircraft
system. 
   SEC. 4.    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.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 46 of the Civil Code is
amended to read:
   46.  Slander is a false and unprivileged publication communicated
orally, or by radio, mechanical, or other means, which does any of
the following:
   (a) Charges a person with a crime, or with having been indicted,
convicted, or punished for a crime.
   (b) Imputes in him or her the present existence of an infectious,
contagious, or loathsome disease.
   (c) Tends directly to injure him or her in respect to his or her
office, profession, trade or business, either by imputing to him or
her general disqualification in those respects which the office or
other occupation peculiarly requires, or by imputing something with
reference to his or her office, profession, trade, or business that
has a natural tendency to lessen its profits.
   (d) Imputes to him or her impotence or a want of chastity.
   (e) By natural consequence causes actual damage.