BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 170 (Gaines) - Unmanned aircraft systems: correctional
facilities
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|Version: April 22, 2015 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 6 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 28, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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SUSPENSE FILE. AS AMENDED.
Bill Summary: SB 170 would do the following:
Provide that the use of an unmanned aircraft system (drone),
as defined, to commit any of enumerated felony violations for
bringing contraband into a prison or jail shall be considered
a factor in aggravation in sentencing.
Provide that a person who uses a drone to commit an infraction
or misdemeanor violation for bringing contraband into a prison
jail be subject to a doubled fine, as specified.
Provide that intentionally operating a drone below the
navigable airspace overlying a state prison or county jail
without permission, subject to specified exceptions, is a
misdemeanor.
Fiscal Impact (as approved May 28,
2015): Non-reimbursable local costs for enforcement and
incarceration, offset to a degree by fine revenue for the new
misdemeanor.
SB 170 (Gaines) Page 1 of
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Background: Existing state law generally prohibits a person from bringing,
possessing, distributing, or selling certain devices and
substances, including but not limited to 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
for a range of criminal penalties for violations of these
provisions, with felony violations generally punishable by two,
three, or four years in county jail or state prison, as
specified.
This bill seeks to place enhanced penalties for violations of
any of the aforementioned provisions that are committed with the
use of a drone.
Proposed Law: This bill would do the following:
Provide that the use of a drone to commit any of
enumerated felony violations of bringing contraband into a
prison or jail shall be considered a factor in aggravation
in sentencing.
Provide that a person who uses a drone to commit an
infraction or misdemeanor violation of bringing contraband
into a prison jail be subject to a doubled fine, as
specified.
Provide that intentionally operating a drone below the
navigable airspace, as defined in federal law, overlying a
state prison or county jail without consent, subject to
specified exceptions for state prison or county jail
personnel, as specified, is a misdemeanor.
Related
Legislation: SB 271 (Gaines) 2015 would make it an infraction
to operate an unmanned aircraft system on or above the grounds
of a public school during school hours, as defined, and without
the written permission of a specified school official.
Prior Legislation: SB 15 (Padilla) 2014 would have clarified
the circumstances in which a law enforcement agency would be
required to obtain a warrant to use a drone and that a drone
could not be used in a manner to invade a person's privacy. This
bill failed in the Assembly Committee on Public Safety.
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AB 1327 (Gorell) 2014 would have prohibited law enforcement from
using a drone without obtaining a search warrant. This bill was
vetoed by the Governor with the following message:
I am returning Assembly Bill 1327 without my signature. This
bill prohibits law enforcement from using a drone without
obtaining a search warrant, except in limited circumstances.
There are undoubtedly circumstances where a warrant is
appropriate. The bill's exceptions, however, appear to be too
narrow and could impose requirements beyond what is required by
either the 4th Amendment or the privacy provisions in the
California Constitution.
Staff
Comments: By requiring that the use of a drone be considered a
factor in aggravation in sentencing for felony violations
involving bringing contraband into a prison or jail, this bill
could potentially result in a minor increase in costs to state
and local agencies for longer sentences served in state prison
and county jail. To the extent the use of a drone involving
contraband-related offenses could potentially be considered a
factor in aggravation in sentencing under existing law, the
potential fiscal impact is expected to be minor.
The felonies relevant to this measure are generally punishable
by imprisonment pursuant to PC §1170(h) for two, three, or four
years. DOJ statistics indicate on average over 2,400 convictions
annually for contraband-related felonies in state prison and
county jail over the last three years. CDCR data indicates
nearly 300 admissions to state prison in 2014 for
contraband-related felonies. To the extent two cases are
impacted due to the provisions of this bill would exceed $50,000
in any one year.
Staff notes that bringing contraband into a jail or prison is a
crime under existing law. Pursuant to Proposition 30 (2012),
legislation enacted after September 30, 2012, that has an
overall effect of increasing the costs already borne by a local
agency for programs or levels of service mandated by the 2011
Realignment Legislation apply to local agencies only to the
extent that the state provides annual funding for the cost
SB 170 (Gaines) Page 3 of
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increase. Although Proposition 30 specifies that legislation
defining a new crime or changing the definition of an existing
crime is not subject to this provision, changing the penalty for
a crime is not specifically exempted and could potentially
require a subvention of funds from the state. While it is not
known with certainty, to the extent the added factor in
aggravation to be considered in these cases is determined to
change the penalty for this crime, any increase in costs to
local agencies attributable to provisions of this legislation
could potentially require annual funding from the State.
The Three-Judge Court has ordered the State to reduce its prison
population to 137.5 percent of the prison system's design
capacity by February 28, 2016. Pursuant to its February 10, 2014
order, the Court has ordered the CDCR to implement several
population reduction measures, prohibited an increase in the
population of inmates housed in out-of-state facilities, and
indicated the Court will maintain jurisdiction over the State
for as long as necessary to ensure that the State's compliance
with the 137.5 percent final benchmark is durable, and that such
durability is firmly established. Any future increases to the
State's prison population challenge the ability of the State to
reach and maintain such a "durable solution," and could require
the State to pursue one of several options, including
contracting-out for additional bed space or releasing current
inmates early onto parole.
Committee amendments (as adopted May 28, 2015): Delete Section
1 of the bill, which provided for an added factor in aggravation
for felony violations of bringing contraband into a prison
through the use of a drone and provided for doubled fines.
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