BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 170
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 170
(Gaines) - As Amended June 29, 2015
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|Policy |Privacy and Consumer |Vote:|11 - 0 |
|Committee: |Protection | | |
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| |Public Safety | |7 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly and intentionally
operate an unmanned aircraft system (drone) on or above the
grounds of a state prison or jail. This prohibition would not
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apply to someone employed by, or given prior permission by, the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
or the jail, respectively.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor nonreimbursable costs to counties for enforcement, offset
to some extent by fine revenues.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "Keeping contraband out of
prison and jails is essential to running safe and orderly
facilities. Studies show that the presence of contraband
increases the risk of violence or disruptive behavior.
However, even with the close monitoring of individuals and
mail coming into prisons and jails, creating contraband-free
facilities has always been a challenge.
"With public access to drones increasing, this issue is
escalating. As drones become smaller and easier to operate,
virtually anyone will be able to use the devise to drop
contraband into a prison or jail. Already there have been
instances in South Carolina, Georgia, and Canada of attempts
to use drones to drop contraband into prisons. It is
imperative that California's penal code addresses this reality
by limiting the use of drones over prisons and jails.
"Additionally, drones can be used to gather sensitive
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information from inside prison and jail walls. This
information can be used for a variety of dangerous exploits,
including inmate escapes and prison riots. Placing
restrictions on the use of drones over prisons and jails helps
prevent these situations."
2)Related Legislation. AB 56 (Quirk), pending in Senate
Appropriations, regulates the use of unmanned aircraft systems
by public agencies.
AB 271 (Gaines), also on today's committee agenda, prohibits
the unauthorized use of an unmanned aircraft system on a
school grounds during school hours or to capture images of the
school grounds during school hours.
SB 142 (Jackson), pending in the Assembly, makes it a trespass
to operate an unmanned aircraft system less than 350 feet
above ground over private property without the consent of the
owner.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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