BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 807
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
807 (Gaines)
As Amended August 18, 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 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
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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 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
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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
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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