Bill Text: CA SB1355 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Unmanned aircraft systems: correctional facilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2018-09-10 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 333, Statutes of 2018. [SB1355 Detail]
Download: California-2017-SB1355-Chaptered.html
| Senate Bill No. 1355 |
| CHAPTER 333 |
An act to add Section 4577 to the Penal Code, relating to unmanned aircraft systems.
[
Approved by
Governor
September 10, 2018.
Filed with
Secretary of State
September 10, 2018.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1355, Hill.
Unmanned aircraft systems: correctional facilities.
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 generally requires an aircraft to be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), prohibits a person from operating a United States registered aircraft unless that aircraft displays specified nationality and registration marks, and, unless authorized by the FAA, prohibits a person from placing on any aircraft a design, mark, or symbol that modifies or confuses those nationality and registration marks. Existing federal law establishes an online and paper-based registration process for specified types of unmanned aircraft systems.
Existing state law generally prohibits a
person from bringing, possessing, distributing, or selling certain devices and substances, including, among other things, alcoholic beverages, controlled substances, and deadly weapons, in state prison or a jail. Existing law also prohibits unauthorized communication with inmates in state prison or a jail. Existing law provides criminal penalties for violations of these provisions.
This bill would make a person who knowingly and intentionally operates an unmanned aircraft system on or above the grounds of a state prison, a jail, or a juvenile hall, camp, or ranch guilty of an infraction punishable by a fine of $500. The bill would make these provisions inapplicable to a person employed by the prison, jail, or county department that operates the juvenile hall, camp, or ranch acting within the scope of that employment, or a person who receives prior permission from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the county sheriff, or department that operates the
juvenile hall, camp, or ranch. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 4577 is added to the Penal Code, to read:4577.
(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), a person who knowingly and intentionally operates an unmanned aircraft system on or above the grounds of a state prison, a jail, or a juvenile hall, camp, or ranch is guilty of an infraction, punishable by a fine of five hundred dollars ($500).(b) This section does not apply to a person employed by the prison who operates the unmanned aircraft system within the scope of his or her employment, or a person who receives prior permission
from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to operate the unmanned aircraft system over the prison.
(c) This section does not apply to a person employed by the jail who operates the unmanned aircraft system within the scope of his or her employment, or a person who receives prior permission from the county sheriff to operate the unmanned aircraft system over the jail.
(d) This section does not apply to a person employed by the county department that operates the juvenile hall, camp, or ranch who operates the unmanned aircraft system within the scope of his or her employment, or a person who receives prior permission from the county department that operates the juvenile hall, camp, or ranch to operate the unmanned aircraft system over the juvenile hall, camp, or
ranch.
(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Unmanned aircraft” means an aircraft that is operated without
the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft.
(2) “Unmanned aircraft system” means an unmanned aircraft and 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.
