BILL NUMBER: AB 1327 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 5, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 23, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 9, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 18, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 3, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Gorell, Bradford, and Quirk
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Muratsuchi)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Fox)
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to add Section 6254.31 to the Government Code, and to add
Title 14 (commencing with Section 14350) to Part 4 of the Penal Code,
relating to unmanned aircraft systems.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1327, as amended, Gorell. Unmanned aircraft systems.
Existing federal law, the Federal Aviation Administration
Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, provides for the integration of
civil unmanned aircraft systems, commonly known as drones, into the
national airspace system by September 30, 2015. Existing federal law
requires the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to
develop and implement operational and certification requirements for
the operation of public unmanned aircraft systems in the national
airspace system by December 31, 2015.
This bill would generally prohibit public agencies from using
unmanned aircraft systems, or contracting for the use of unmanned
aircraft systems, as defined, with certain exceptions applicable to
law enforcement agencies and in certain other cases.
The bill would require reasonable public notice to be provided by
public agencies intending to deploy unmanned aircraft systems, as
specified. The bill would require images, footage, or data obtained
through the use of an unmanned aircraft system under these provisions
to be permanently destroyed within one year, except as specified.
Unless authorized by federal law, the bill would prohibit a person or
entity, including a public agency subject to these provisions, or a
person or entity under contract to a public agency, for the purpose
of that contract, from equipping or arming an unmanned aircraft
system with a weapon or other device that may be carried by or
launched from an unmanned aircraft system and that is intended to
cause bodily injury or death, or damage to, or the destruction of,
real or personal property.
The bill would make its provisions applicable to all public and
private entities when contracting with a public agency for the use of
an unmanned aircraft system.
Existing law, the California Public Records Act, requires state
and local agencies to make public records available for inspection,
subject to certain exceptions.
This bill would make certain images, footage, or data obtained
through the use of an unmanned aircraft system under its provisions,
or any related record, including, but not limited to,
usage logs or logs that identify any person or entity that
subsequently obtains or requests records of that system, subject to
disclosure. The bill would prevent except
from the disclosure requ irements discussed above
images, footage, data, and records obtained through the use of an
unmanned aircraft system by a law enforcement agency
pursuant to a warrant based on probable cause, and images, footage,
data, and records that pertain to a pending criminal investigation,
from being subject to disclosure. if disclosure would
endanger the safety of a person involved in a criminal investigation,
or would endanger the successful completion of the criminal
investigation.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that
limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the
writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings
demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need
for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 6254.31 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
6254.31. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter,
images, footage, or data obtained through the use of an unmanned
aircraft system pursuant to subdivisions (c) or (d) of
Section 14350 Title 14 (commencing with Section 14350)
of Part 4 of the Penal Code, or any related record,
including, but not limited to, usage logs or logs that identify any
person or entity that subsequently obtains or requests records of
that system, are public records subject to disclosure.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter,
subdivision (a), nothing in this chapter or any other
law requires the disclosure of images, footage, or data
obtained through the use of an unmanned aircraft system, or any
related record, including, but not limited to, usage logs or
logs that identify any person or entity that subsequently obtains or
requests records of that system, are not public records
subject to disclosure in both of the following instances:
to the extent that disclosure of the images, footage, data, or
records would endanger the safety of a person involved in a criminal
i nvestigation, or would endanger the successful
completion of the criminal investigation.
(1) If the unmanned aircraft system was used pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 14350 of the Penal Code.
(2) If the images, footage, data, or records pertain to a pending
criminal investigation.
SEC. 2. Title 14 (commencing with Section 14350) is added to Part
4 of the Penal Code, to read:
TITLE 14. UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
14350. (a) A public agency shall not use an unmanned aircraft
system, or contract for the use of an unmanned aircraft system,
except as provided in this title. This title shall apply to all
public and private entities when contracting with a public agency for
the use of an unmanned aircraft system.
(b) A law enforcement agency may use an unmanned aircraft system
if it has obtained a warrant based on probable cause pursuant to this
code.
(c) (1) A law enforcement agency, without obtaining a warrant, may
use an unmanned aircraft system in emergency situations if there is
an imminent threat to life or of great bodily harm, including, but
not limited to, fires, hostage crises, "hot pursuit" situations if
reasonably necessary to prevent harm to law enforcement officers or
others, and search and rescue operations on land or water.
(2) A law enforcement agency, without obtaining a warrant, may use
an unmanned aircraft system to assess the necessity of first
responders in situations relating to traffic accidents, and
to inspect state parks and wilderness areas for illegal
vegetation, vegetation or fires.
(d) (1) A public agency
other than a law enforcement agency may use an unmanned aircraft
system, or contract for the use of an unmanned aircraft system, to
achieve the core mission of the agency provided that the purpose is
unrelated to the gathering of criminal intelligence.
(2) Except as permitted by this title and when a law enforcement
agency is not required to obtain a warrant as specified in this
title, data collected pursuant to this subdivision shall not be
disseminated to a law enforcement agency unless the agency has
obtained a warrant for the data based on probable cause pursuant to
this code.
14351. A public agency that uses an unmanned aircraft system, or
contracts for the use of an unmanned aircraft system, pursuant to
this title shall first provide reasonable notice to the public.
Reasonable notice shall, at a minimum, consist of a one-time
announcement regarding the agency's intent to deploy unmanned
aircraft system technology and a description of the technology's
capabilities.
14352. (a) (1) Except as permitted by this
title, images, footage, or data obtained by a public agency,
or any entity contracting with a public agency, through the use of
an unmanned aircraft system shall not be disseminated outside the
collecting public agency, and shall not be used by the public agency
for any purpose other than that for which it was collected. Images,
footage, or data obtained through the use of an unmanned aircraft
system shall be permanently destroyed within one year, except that a
public agency may retain the images, footage, or data for the
purposes of training, academic research, teaching, and monitoring
material assets owned by the public agency, and shall retain any
image, footage, or data if a warrant authorized its collection or if
the images, footage, or data are evidence in any claim filed or any
pending litigation. agency , or any entity
contracting with a public agency, pursuant to this title shall not be
disseminated to a law enforcement agency unless the law enforcement
agency has obtained a warrant for the images, footage, or data based
on probable cause pursuant to this code, or the law enforcement
agency would not have been required to obtain a warrant to collect
the images, footage, or data itself, as specified in
subdivision (c) of Section 14350.
(2) Except as permitted by this title, images, footage, or data
obtained by a public agency, or any entity contracting with a public
agency, through the use of an unmanned aircraft system shall not be
disseminated outside the collecting public agency, unless one of the
following circumstances applies:
(A) Images, footage, or data obtained by a public agency through
the use of an unmanned aircraft system may be disseminated to another
public agency that is not a law enforcement agency if the images,
footage, or data are related to the core mission of both public
agencies involved in the sending or receiving of the images, footage,
or data.
(B) Images, footage, or data obtained by a public agency through
the use of an unmanned aircraft system may be disseminated outside
the collecting public agency if the images, footage, or data are
evidence in any claim filed or any pending litigation.
(C) Images, footage, or data obtained by a public agency through
the use of an unmanned aircraft system may be disseminated to a
private entity if both of the following conditions are satisfied:
(i) The collecting public agency is not a law enforcement agency.
(ii) The images, footage, or data are related to the core function
of the collecting public agency.
(b) Except as permitted by this title, images, footage, or data
obtained by a public agency through the use of an unmanned aircraft
system shall not be used by the public agency for any purpose other
than that for which it was collected.
(c) (1) Images, footage, or data obtained through the use of an
unmanned aircraft system shall be permanently destroyed within one
year, except that a public agency may retain the images, footage, or
data in all of the following circumstances:
(b)
(A) For training purposes. Images,
footage, or data retained for training purposes shall be used only
for the education and instruction of an a
public agency's employees in matters related to the mission of
the public agency and for no other purpose.
(c)
(B) For academic research or teaching
purposes. Images, footage, or data retained for academic
research or teaching purposes shall be used only for the advancement
of research and teaching conducted by California's public colleges
and universities and matters related to the mission of the
institution and for no other purpose.
(C) For purposes of monitoring material assets owned by the public
agency.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a public agency shall retain
images, footage, or data obtained through the use of an unmanned
aircraft system in both of the following circumstances:
(A) If a warrant authorized the collection of the images, footage,
or data.
(B) If the images, footage, or data are evidence in any claim
filed or any pending litigation.
14353. Unless authorized by federal law, a person or entity,
including a public agency subject to Section 14350 or a person or
entity under contract to a public agency, for the purpose of that
contract, shall not equip or arm an unmanned aircraft system with a
weapon or other device that may be carried by or launched from an
unmanned aircraft system and that is intended to cause bodily injury
or death, or damage to, or the destruction of, real or personal
property.
14354. All unmanned aircraft systems shall be operated so as to
minimize the collection of images, footage, or data of persons,
places, or things not specified with particularity in the warrant
authorizing the use of an unmanned aircraft system, or, if no warrant
was obtained, for purposes unrelated to the justification for the
operation.
14355. (a) This title is not intended to conflict with or
supersede federal law, including rules and regulations of the Federal
Aviation Administration.
(b) A local legislative body may adopt more restrictive policies
on the acquisition or use of unmanned aircraft systems.
14356. For the purposes of this title, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Criminal intelligence" means information compiled, analyzed,
or disseminated in an effort to anticipate, prevent, monitor, or
investigate criminal activity.
(b) "Law enforcement agency" means the Attorney General of the
State of California, each district attorney, and each agency of the
State of California authorized by statute to investigate or prosecute
law violators.
(c) "Public agency" means and includes each state agency and each
local agency.
(d) "Unmanned aircraft system" means an unmanned aircraft and
associated elements, including 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.
14357. The surveillance restrictions on electronic devices
pursuant to Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 630) of Title 15 of
Part 1 shall apply to unmanned aircraft systems.
SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that
Section 1 of this act, which adds Section 6254.31 of the Government
Code, imposes a limitation on the public's right of access to the
meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and
agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the
California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision,
the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the
interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting
that interest:
In order to ensure the safety of persons involved in criminal
investigations and to preserve the integrity of those investigations,
it is necessary that this act take effect.