BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 271
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
271 (Gaines)
As Amended July 16, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 37-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Privacy |11-0 |Gatto, Wilk, Baker, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Chau, Cooper, | |
| | |Dababneh, Dahle, | |
| | |Gordon, Low | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Education |7-0 |O'Donnell, Chávez, | |
| | |Kim, McCarty, | |
| | |Santiago, Thurmond, | |
| | |Weber | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Daly, Eggman, | |
SB 271
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| | |Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Makes it a criminal infraction to knowingly and
intentionally operate an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) at or
less than 350 feet above a public school campus or to use a UAS
to capture images of a public school campus during school hours
without the written permission of the school principal.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Prohibits the knowing and intentional operation of a UAS at or
less than 350 feet above the grounds of a public school
providing instruction in kindergarten or grades 1 through 12
(K-12 school).
2)Prohibits the unauthorized use of a UAS to capture images of
K-12 school grounds during school hours.
3)Provides exceptions to these prohibitions for:
a) The news media, including newspaper, television, radio,
news wire services, and periodical publications engaged in
gathering, receiving, or processing information for
communication to the public, or individuals connected to or
employed by the news media;
SB 271
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b) Law enforcement agencies; and
c) UAS users who have written permission from the school
principal, the principal's designee, or a higher authority.
4)Requires the news media to stop using a UAS over a K-12
school's grounds upon the request of a school principal on the
basis that the UAS would disrupt class or other school
activities.
5)Authorizes the imposition of a warning for the first
violation, and a fine of $200 for each subsequent violation.
6)Defines "school hours" to include any school session,
extracurricular activities, events sponsored by the school,
and one hour before and after any session, activity, or event.
7)Defines "unmanned aircraft" and "unmanned aircraft system"
consistent with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
regulation.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor nonreimbursable costs to cities and counties
for enforcement, offset to some extent by fine revenues.
COMMENTS: This bill seeks to protect the privacy of public
school students and to shield them from potential injury,
harassment, stalking, kidnapping or other harms that could stem
from the use of UAS to capture students' images or movements on
public school campuses. This bill is author-sponsored.
SB 271
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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.
On February 15, 2015, the FAA released a proposed framework of
regulations to allow the use of "small" UAS (under 55 pounds) in
national airspace, i.e., above 400 feet. If enacted, the
proposed rules would limit flights to non-recreational, daylight
uses and would require the UAS pilot to maintain a visual line
of sight with the UAS. The FAA has stated it may create a less
strict regulatory framework for "micro" UAS (under 4.4 pounds).
Once the FAA has finished promulgating regulations governing the
use of UAS, a future court may find that those regulations
preempt certain state laws - such as this one, if passed - but
this remains uncertain.
Despite the myriad practical applications for UAS, the need for
controls on the use of certain UAS uses is undisputed in light
of the profound negative impacts UAS can have on personal
privacy and safety. UAS equipped with cameras, microphones,
Internet or wireless connections, and remote controls have
enormous potential to invade personal space if used, for
example, to hover at low heights over fenced backyards, outside
the windows of homes, over schools, and in other public and
private spaces. Among other things, UAS can be used to capture
close up images of faces, body parts, or personal property, and
could be used to listen to private conversations. They can also
crash as a result of low battery power or operator error,
putting individuals at personal risk as well.
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The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which
protects the privacy of student information held in a student's
educational record, does not cover photos or videos of students
taken by a UAS hovering above a school campus.
Analysis Prepared by: Jennie Bretschneider / P. & C.P. / (916)
319-2200 FN:
0001531