BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  1





          Date of Hearing:  June 14, 2016


                ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PRIVACY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION


                                   Ed Chau, Chair


          SB  
          807 (Gaines) - As Amended May 27, 2016


          SENATE VOTE:  37-0


          SUBJECT:  Unmanned aircraft systems


          SUMMARY:  Grants civil immunity to public entities, public  
          employees, and unpaid volunteers and private entities acting  
          within the scope of delegated authority that damage an unmanned  
          aircraft system (UAS) in the course of providing emergency  
          services.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Specifies that an emergency responder is not liable for damage  
            to a UAS if the damage was caused while the emergency  
            responder was providing, and the UAS was interfering with, the  
            operation, support, or enabling of any of the following  
            emergency services:


             a)   Emergency medical services or ambulance transport  
               services, including, but not limited to, air ambulance  
               services;


             b)   Firefighting or firefighting-related services,  








                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  2





               including, but not limited to, air services related to  
               firefighting or firefighting-related services; and


          c)Search and rescue services, including, but not limited to, air  
            search and rescue services.


          2)Defines the term "emergency responder" for purposes of the  
            civil immunity to mean either of the following, if acting  
            within the scope of authority implicitly or expressly provided  
            by a public entity or a public employee to provide emergency  
            services:


          a)A paid or unpaid volunteer; or


          b)A private entity.


          3)Specifies that a public entity or public employee is not  
            liable for any damage to a UAS if the damage was caused while  
            the public entity or public employee was providing, and the  
            UAS was interfering with, the operation, support, or enabling  
            of any of the following emergency services:


             a)   Emergency medical services or ambulance transport  
               services, including, but not limited to, air ambulance  
               services;


             b)   Firefighting or firefighting-related services,  
               including, but not limited to, air services related to  
               firefighting or firefighting-related services; and


          c)Search and rescue services, including, but not limited to, air  








                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  3





            search and rescue services.


          4)Defines the term "unmanned aircraft" to mean an aircraft that  
            is operated without the possibility of direct human  
            intervention from within or on the aircraft.


          5)Defines the term "unmanned aircraft system" to mean an  
            unmanned aircraft and all of the associated elements,  
            including, but not limited to, communication links and the  
            components that control the unmanned aircraft that are  
            required for the pilot in command to operate safely and  
            efficiently in the national airspace system.  


          EXISTING LAW:   


          1)Generally exempts a public agency, or public employee acting  
            in the scope of his employment, from liability for injury  
            resulting from the condition of fire protection or  
            firefighting equipment or facilities, and for any injury  
            caused fighting fires.  (Government Code Section (GC) 850.4)   


           2)Establishes, under the Government Tort Claims Act (Act), rules  
            of civil liability that apply to public entities and public  
            employees in California.  (GC 810, et seq.)   


           3)Defines a "public entity" to include the state, the Regents of  
            the University of California, the Trustees of the California  
            State University and the California State University, a  
            county, city, district, public authority, public agency, and  
            any other political subdivision or public corporation in the  
            State, and makes all public entities, state and local, liable  
            in tort to the extent declared by statute, subject to stated  
            immunities and defenses.  (GC 811.2 and 815, et seq.)   








                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  4







           4)Defines a "public employee" as an employee of a public entity  
            and makes public employees liable to the same extent as  
            private persons, subject to various immunities and defenses.   
            (GC 811.4 and 820, et seq.)  


           5)Makes it a misdemeanor to go to the scene of an emergency or  
            stop at the scene of an emergency to watch the scene or the  
            activities of first responders or military personnel if doing  
            so impedes their efforts, unless it is part of the duties of  
            the person's employment to view the scene or activities.   
            (Penal Code (PC) 402(a)) 


          6)Defines an "emergency" as a condition or situation involving  
            injury to persons, damage to property, or peril to the safety  
            of persons or property, which results from a fire, explosion,  
            airplane crash, flooding, windstorm damage, rail accident,  
            traffic accident, power plant accident, toxic chemical or  
            biological spill, or any other natural or human-caused event.   
            (PC 402(c)) 


          7)Requires, under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)  
            Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, the FAA to integrate UAS  
            into the national airspace system by September 30, 2015, and  
            to develop and implement certification requirements for the  
            operation of UAS in the national airspace system by December  
            31, 2015.  (Public Law Number 112-095) 


           FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, any additional state  
          costs are not significant, and do not and will not require the  
          appropriation of additional state funds, and the bill will cause  
          no significant reduction in revenues.









                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  5






          COMMENTS:  


           1)Purpose of this bill  .  This bill is intended to prevent  
            civilian UAS from interfering with firefighting and other  
            emergency response activities by granting immunity from  
            lawsuits to public entities, public employees, and unpaid  
            volunteers and private entities acting within the scope of  
            delegated authority who damage a drone in the line of duty  
            (such as conducting firefighting, air ambulance, and  
            search-and-rescue operations).  This bill is sponsored by the  
            League of California Cities and the California Police Chiefs  
            Association. 


           2)Author's statement  .  According to the author: "Early in the  
            course of last year's drought-heightened fire season, private  
            unauthorized drones repeatedly halted firefighting efforts.   
            The simple presence of these drones forced firefighters to  
            ground mission-critical tanker aircraft, unnecessarily putting  
            pilots, firefighters, civilians and property at risk.   
            Disruption by drones at all fires-wildfire or otherwise-can  
            have grave consequences.  Additionally, these rogue drones  
            have interfered with other lifesaving missions, such as air  
            ambulance services.  This bill will help ensure that emergency  
            responders can do the job of protecting the public without  
            worrying about frivolous lawsuits." 


            "As drones become more accessible to the public, their  
            presence in the sky is quickly increasing.  It is essential  
            that lifesaving services provided by emergency responders be  
            free to continue despite someone's misplaced desire to capture  
            images for YouTube and the like. It is the author's hope and  
            intent that the advent of effective 'jamming' technology could  
            keep drones away from emergency response areas and flight  
            paths, and that warnings and public education efforts could  
            ensure that the safest, least-damaging methods for avoiding or  








                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  6





            disabling unauthorized drones will be the primary methods used  
            in these crises.  This bill is a critical piece of legislation  
            to keep rogue drones from interfering with the most effective  
            response to time-sensitive crises."


           3)Growth in commercial and recreational uses of UAS  .  UAS are  
            widely available to the public for recreational use.  Retail  
            UAS devices outfitted with cameras now range from roughly $300  
            to $1,500.  A July 2015 report by the Consumer Electronics  
            Association estimates that hobbyists in the United States will  
            buy 700,000 drones in 2015 alone. 


            Commercial applications for UAS are being rapidly developed.   
            UAS can give 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 can be 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.  


           4)FAA regulation of UAS  .  In 2012, Congress passed the FAA  
            Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (Act).  The Act required  
            the FAA to establish a framework for safely integrating UAS  
            into the national airspace, and authorized the FAA establish  
            interim requirements for the commercial operation of UAS.   
            While the FAA is not expected to finish its final rulemaking  
            for another year or two, the FAA's interim rules require  
            entities that wish to conduct commercial, governmental,  
            research or educational UAS operations to meet certain  
            standards and apply for a Certificate of Authorization to  
            operate.


            In 2015, the FAA issued rules requiring any UAS weighing  








                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  7





            between half a pound and 55 pounds to be registered with the  
            FAA by February 19, 2016.  The new FAA registration rules  
            apply only to "model aircraft," i.e., recreational UAS.  Upon  
            registration, the FAA issues a unique identifier, which must  
            be affixed to the UAS in a "readily accessible and visible  
            manner."  The unique identifier can then be used to look up  
            the UAS owner in the event of a problem or accident.



           5)Recent drone incidents near wildfires  .  During last year's  
            fire season, several hobby UAS operators disrupted  
            firefighting efforts during the initial stage of the North  
            Fire near Cajon Pass.  According to the California Department  
            of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), as the fire burned  
            toward Interstate 15, which links Southern California to Las  
            Vegas, fire officials were forced to ground firefighting  
            aircraft after drones were sighted nearby - hampering efforts  
            that could otherwise have held back the blaze that ultimately  
            destroyed 20 vehicles and forced motorists to flee on foot  
            from oncoming flames.  

          The North Fire was just one of many incidents in 2015 in which  
            hobby drones have caused disruptions in the suppression of  
            California's major wildfires.  On July 22, 2015, a drone  
            grounded Cal Fire air support crews that were fighting a  
            grassfire near Auburn in Placer County.  Drone operators also  
            interfered with emergency crews at the Mill 2 Fire in Yucaipa  
            on July 12, 2015, and the Lake Fire near Barton Flats on June  
            17, 2015. 



            Aerial firefighting aircraft, such as air tankers and  
            helicopters, must fly at very low altitudes in order to be  
            effective.  Hobbyists who fly UAS near fires create the  
            potential for a mid-air collision that could injure or kill  
            aerial and ground firefighters as well as innocent bystanders  
            on the ground below.  Because of this risk, when firefighters  








                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  8





            detect a UAS flying over or near a wildfire, air operations  
            must be suspended until all drones flying in a fire area are  
            removed.  This delay allows wildfires to grow, and in some  
            cases like the North Fire, such a delay can pose an immediate  
            threat to human lives and property.  


           6)Civil immunity for damage to drones that interfere with  
            emergency services  .  This bill would provide immunity from  
            civil liability for damage caused to UAS that interfere with  
            emergency services more broadly, including ambulance services,  
            services related to firefighting, and search and rescue  
            operations - whether air, land or water-based - and whether  
            public or private sector emergency responders are involved.


            Generally speaking, under the state Government Tort Claims  
            Act, public entities and public employees already enjoy  
            immunity from civil liability for injury caused fighting  
            fires.  This bill would expand immunity from civil liability  
            to both public and private sector emergency responders for any  
            damage to a UAS, if the damage was caused while the responder  
            was providing, and the UAS was interfering with, emergency  
            services.  For example, if an emergency responder collided  
            with a drone, or if a drone had to be purposely damaged or  
            destroyed in order to conduct emergency operations, then the  
            immunity in this bill would apply, but only for damage to the  
            UAS itself and not any secondary effects.     



            Note that, for purposes of the civil immunity, the bill  
            applies to forms of emergency response beyond firefighting,  
            including ambulance services and search and rescue services.  

            This bill also defines "emergency responder" to include not  
            just public entities and public employees, but also unpaid  
            volunteers and private entities who are acting within the  
            scope of authority implicitly or expressly provided by a  








                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  9





            public entity or public employee to respond to an emergency  
            situation. 

           7)Consumer education and other UAS mitigation tools  .  Law  
            enforcement agencies currently have a limited number of tools,  
            such as consumer education, UAS communications jamming, and  
            "geofencing" technology to help mitigate UAS interference in  
            wildfires and other emergencies.  

            Cal Fire and other agencies have already begun an extensive  
            public education campaign under the motto, "If You Fly, We  
            Can't!" to inform the public of the dangers of flying UAS near  
            emergencies and to discourage hobbyists from flying UAS near  
            wildfires.  Cal Fire has also established a hotline  
            (1-844-DRONE11) for reporting information about irresponsible  
            UAS operators flying close to disasters and emergencies.   
            Private sector smart phone applications, like Hover, can also  
            help drone users avoid restricted areas. 
             
             In certain cases, law enforcement agencies can jam  
            communication frequencies to stop drones from approaching  
            danger zones.  However, untargeted jamming technologies can  
            also inadvertently interfere with first-responder and civilian  
            communications, and could disable drones in use by legitimate  
            first responders.  

            Earlier this year, this Committee approved AB 2724 (Gatto),  
            which proposes requiring UAS to have so-called "geofencing"  
            chips that could one day automatically prevent a UAS from  
            flying into an area designated by authorities as a danger  
            zone.  However, many recreational drones in use today do not  
            contain geofencing technology, and those that do can be  
            disabled by drone operators.  

            This bill would ensure all manner of emergency responders  
            would have immunity in the instance that a UAS must be taken  
            down in a way that damages the UAS but that is necessary for  
            emergency response services to proceed. 









                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  10





           8)Governor's veto of prior legislation  .  In 2015, this Committee  
            unanimously approved SB 168 (Gaines and Jackson), which  
            contained immunity provisions similar to this bill.  While SB  
            168 received unanimous approval from the Legislature, Governor  
            Brown vetoed it along with several other bills that created  
            new crimes.  Governor Brown's veto message read as follows: 
           
                "Each of these bills creates a new crime - usually by  
               finding a novel way to characterize and criminalize conduct  
               that is already proscribed.  This multiplication and  
               particularization of criminal behavior creates increasing  
               complexity without commensurate benefit.



               "Over the last several decades, California's criminal code  
               has grown to more than 5,000 separate provisions, covering  
               almost every conceivable form of human misbehavior.  During  
               the same period, our jail and prison populations have  
               exploded. 

               "Before we keep going down this road, I think we should  
               pause and reflect on how our system of criminal justice  
               could be made more human, more just and more  
               cost-effective." 

            The criminal penalty provisions that were contained in SB 168  
            are not included in this bill. 





           9)Arguments in support  .  According to the bill's sponsors, the  
            California Police Chiefs Association and the League of  
            California Cities, "Privately operated drones pose a serious  
            threat to our state's first responders battling wildfires,  
            transporting critically ill individuals and searching for  
            missing persons?[I]n Fresno we witnessed a civilian's drone  








                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  11





            nearly collide with an air ambulance.  At the Cajon Pass, we  
            witnessed a tragedy as dozens of cars combusted.  The cause?   
            A civilian drone forced firefighting operations to land,  
            allowing for the fire to grow and jump the freeway.  The U.S.  
            Forest Services has tallied thirteen wildfires in which  
            suspected drones interfered with firefighting aircraft last  
            year.  In fact, this increasingly frequent hazard is causing  
            local jurisdiction to offer rewards ranging from $25,000 to  
            $75,000 for information on interrupting drone-operators.  The  
            distractions, delays, and heightened threat to public safety  
            caused by the irresponsible use of civilian drones pose an  
            unacceptable and growing risk for both our first responders  
            and members of the public. SB 807 will allow first responders  
            to continue their operations and keep Californians safe."
             


             According to the Civil Justice Association of California, this  
            bill "protects emergency responders whether paid or unpaid,  
            private or public employees, performing a list of emergency  
            services including firefighting, search and rescue, ambulance  
            and air ambulance. These essential roles are inherently  
            dangerous.  We should not add to the risks associated with  
            these roles by exposing the people who fill them to lawsuits  
            over damage to drones interfering with emergency response."





           10)Technical amendment  .   The author has agreed to accept the  
            following technical amendment to the Government Code to  
            clarify that this bill does not limit any other immunity in  
            existing law that may apply to public entity or public  
            employee:



              On page 3, between lines 20 and 21, insert:








                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  12










               "853.1. The immunity provided by this chapter is in  
               addition to any other immunity provided to a public entity  
               or public employee under law."





           11)Related legislation  .  AB 1680 (Rodriguez) makes it a  
            misdemeanor to operate a UAS in a way that interferes with  
            first responders.  AB 1680 is pending in the Senate Public  
            Safety Committee. 

            AB 2320 (Calderon and Low) prohibits, among other things,  
            operating a UAS in a way that interferes with emergency  
            response in an emergency. AB 2320 is pending in the Senate  
            Public Safety Committee.





            AB 2724 (Gatto) requires UAS makers to include with the UAS a  
            copy of FAA safety regulations, and if the UAS is required to  
            be registered with the FAA, a notice of the registration  
            requirement. That bill also requires UAS with GPS technology  
            to be outfitted with a geo-fencing feature and requires UAS  
            owners to have adequate liability insurance.  AB 2724 is  
            pending in the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee.



           12)Double-referral  .  This bill was double-referred to the  
            Assembly Judiciary Committee, where it will be heard if passed  








                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  13





            by this Committee. 



          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          California Police Chiefs Association (co-sponsor)


          League of California Cities (co-sponsor)


          Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs


          California Ambulance Association


          California Association of Code Enforcement Officers


          California College and University Police Chiefs Association


          California Fire Chiefs Association


          California Forestry Association


          California Justice Association of California










                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  14





          California Narcotic Officers Association


          California Professional Firefighters


          California Special Districts Association


          California State Association of Counties


          California State Sheriffs' Association


          California Statewide Law Enforcement Association


          City of Ontario


          City of Thousand Oaks


          Civil Justice Association of California


          CSAC Excess Insurance Authority 


          DJI Technology


          Fire Districts Association of California


          LIUNA Local 792










                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  15





          Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association


          Los Angeles Police Protective League


          Orange County Board of Supervisors
                                                                   

          Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, Local 3631


          Riverside Sheriffs Association 


          San Bernardino County 


          Ventura Council of Governments




          Opposition


          None on file.




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














                                                                     SB 807


                                                                    Page  16