BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 807 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 807 (Gaines) As Amended August 18, 2016 Majority vote SENATE VOTE: 37-0 -------------------------------------------------------------------- |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 Page 2 |Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | | | | |Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, | | | | |Calderon, Chang, Daly, | | | | |Eggman, Gallagher, | | | | |Eduardo Garcia, | | | | |Holden, Jones, | | | | |Obernolte, Quirk, | | | | |Santiago, Wagner, | | | | |Weber, Wood, Chau | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Grants civil immunity to local public entities, public employees, and unpaid volunteers and private entities acting within the scope of delegated authority granted by a local public entity that damage an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) in the course of providing emergency services. Specifically, this bill: 1)Specifies that a local 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 SB 807 Page 3 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 local public entity or a public employee of a local public entity to provide emergency services. 3)Specifies that a local public entity or public employee of a local public entity is not liable for any damage to a UAS if the damage was caused while the local public entity or public employee of a local public entity 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 local public entity or public employee of a local public entity 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 local firefighting and other local emergency response activities by granting immunity from lawsuits to local public entities, public employees of local public entities, and unpaid volunteers and private entities acting within the scope of delegated authority of a local public entity who damage a drone in the line of duty (such as conducting firefighting, air SB 807 Page 4 ambulance, and search-and-rescue operations). This bill is sponsored by the League of California Cities and the California Police Chiefs Association. This bill would provide immunity from civil liability for damage caused to UAS that interfere with local 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 local emergency response beyond firefighting, including ambulance services and search and rescue services and defines "emergency responder" to include not just local public entities and public employees of local public entities, but also unpaid volunteers and private entities who are acting within the scope of authority implicitly or expressly provided by a local public entity or public employee of a local public entity to respond to an emergency situation. In 2015, the Legislature approved a bill containing immunity provisions for both state and local public entities, SB 168 (Gaines), which 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. Before we keep going down this road, I think we should pause SB 807 Page 5 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 SB 168 are not included in this bill. Analysis Prepared by: Jennie Bretschneider / P. & C.P. / (916) 319-2200 FN: 0004349