BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 271


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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          271 (Gaines)


          As Amended  September 1, 2015


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  37-0


           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |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,   |                     |
          |                |     |Gallagher, Eduardo     |                     |
          |                |     |Garcia, Holden, Jones, |                     |








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          |                |     |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 (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, i.e., newspaper, television, radio, news  
               wire services, periodicals, and their Internet Web sites,  
               including individuals connected to or employed by the news  
               media;


             b)   Law enforcement agencies; 


             c)   UAS users who have written permission from the school  
               principal, the principal's designee, or a higher authority;  
               and








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             d)   Entities authorized by the Federal Aviation  
               Administration (FAA) to use UAS, if the UAS is operated in  
               accordance with the terms and conditions of the  
               authorization. 


          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 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.









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          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.  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.   




          Recent amendments clarify that this bill does not apply to UAS  
          operators who have FAA authorization, as long as the UAS is  
          operated in accordance with the FAA authorization.


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Jennie Bretschneider / P. & C.P. / (916)  
          319-2200          FN: 0001855











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