BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 170
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
170 (Gaines)
As Amended June 29, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Privacy |11-0 |Gatto, Wilk, Baker, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Chau, Cooper, | |
| | |Dababneh, Dahle, | |
| | |Gordon, Low | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public Safety |7-0 |Quirk, Melendez, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, | |
| | |Lopez, Low, Santiago | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
SB 170
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| | |Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Prohibits a person from knowingly and intentionally
operating an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) over a state prison
or county jail. Specifically, this bill:
1)Makes it a misdemeanor for a person to knowingly and
intentionally operate a UAS on or above the grounds of a state
prison or jail, except as provided.
1)Exempts from the prohibition a prison employee operating
within the scope of his or her employment, or a person with
the prior permission of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation.
2)Exempts from the prohibition a jail employee operating within
the scope of his or her employment, or a person with the prior
permission of the county sheriff.
3)Defines the terms "unmanned aircraft" and "unmanned aircraft
system" consistent with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
regulation.
SB 170
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4)Provides that no reimbursement is required because the only
costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this bill creates a new
crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, changes
the penalty for a crime or infraction, or changes the
definition of a crime.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor nonreimbursable costs to counties for
enforcement, offset to some extent by fine revenues.
COMMENTS: This bill is intended to improve prison and jail
security by making it a misdemeanor to operate a UAS in the
airspace over the grounds of a state prison or county jail.
This bill is author-sponsored.
Commercial applications for UAS are growing exponentially. UAS
gives the news media economical and environmentally-friendly
access to aerial views of traffic, storms, and other events when
compared to the current use of helicopters and other manned
aircraft. UAS is used in the agricultural industry to observe
and measure crops while conserving resources and avoiding the
use of heavy equipment. And UAS may be the future delivery
system for mail order and Internet companies.
The concern about drone overflight of correctional facilities to
prevent smuggling is not just a theoretical exercise, as there
are multiple examples of people attempting to use UAS to
introduce contraband into prisons, including a recent attempt in
August to smuggle drugs, tobacco and pornography into a
maximum-security prison in Maryland. Ireland, Britain,
Australia and Canada have reported similar UAS incidents at
prisons. UAS can also crash as a result of low battery power or
operator error, putting inmates and prison employees at risk.
SB 170
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Analysis Prepared by: Jennie
Bretschneider / P. & C.P. / (916) 319-2200 FN: 0001530