BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 807
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
807 (Gaines)
As Amended June 21, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 37-0
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Privacy |11-0 |Chau, Wilk, Baker, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Cooper, Dababneh, | |
| | |Gatto, Gordon, Low, | |
| | |Olsen | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Judiciary |10-0 |Mark Stone, Wagner, | |
| | |Alejo, Chau, Chiu, | |
| | |Gallagher, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Cristina Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Maienschein, | |
| | |Ting | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
SB 807
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|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood, | |
| | |Chau | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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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,
including, but not limited to, air services related to
firefighting or firefighting-related services; and
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c) Search and rescue services, including, but not limited
to, air search and rescue services.
2)Specifies that the term "emergency responder" includes paid or
unpaid volunteers and private entities if they are acting
within the scope of authority implicitly or expressly provided
by a public entity or a public employee to provide emergency
services.
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 above listed emergency services.
4)Clarifies that the immunity provided by this bill is in
addition to any other immunity provided to a public entity or
public employee under law.
5)Defines the terms "unmanned aircraft" and "unmanned aircraft
system" consistent with federal law.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, negligible fiscal impact.
COMMENTS: 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
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the California Police Chiefs Association.
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.
The bill applies to forms of emergency response beyond
firefighting, including ambulance services and search and rescue
services and 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 public entity or
public employee to respond to an emergency situation.
In 2015, an approved bill containing similar immunity
provisions, SB 168 (Gaines), received unanimous approval from
the Legislature, but Governor Brown vetoed it along with several
other bills that created new crimes. Governor Brown's veto
message reads 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.
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"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 last
year's vetoed bill, SB 168, are not included in this bill.
Analysis Prepared by:
Jennie Bretschneider / P. & C.P. / (916)
319-2200
FN: 0003935