BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1662


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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING


          AB  
          1662 (Chau)


          As Amended  March 3, 2016


          Majority vote


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Privacy         |11-0 |Chau, Wilk, Baker,    |                    |
          |                |     |Calderon, Chang,      |                    |
          |                |     |Cooper, Dababneh,     |                    |
          |                |     |Gatto, Gordon, Low,   |                    |
          |                |     |Olsen                 |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Transportation  |15-0 |Frazier, Linder,      |                    |
          |                |     |Baker, Bloom, Brown,  |                    |
          |                |     |Chu, Daly, Dodd,      |                    |
          |                |     |Gomez, Kim, Mathis,   |                    |
          |                |     |Medina, Melendez,     |                    |
          |                |     |Nazarian, O'Donnell   |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow,    |                    |
          |                |     |Bloom, Bonilla,       |                    |
          |                |     |Bonta, Calderon,      |                    |
          |                |     |Chang, Daly, Eggman,  |                    |
          |                |     |Gallagher, Eduardo    |                    |








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          |                |     |Garcia, McCarty,      |                    |
          |                |     |Holden, Jones,        |                    |
          |                |     |Obernolte, Quirk,     |                    |
          |                |     |Santiago, Wagner,     |                    |
          |                |     |Weber, Wood           |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 


          SUMMARY:  Protects people from "hit and run" unmanned aircraft  
          system (UAS) accidents by requiring UAS operators to remain at  
          the scene of an accident and provide their name and address  
          along with valid identification to the victim and the police.   
          Specifically, this bill: 


          1)Requires a UAS operator to stay at the scene of any accident  
            involving the UAS that results in personal injury or damage to  
            property; 


          2)Requires the UAS operator to immediately land the UAS at the  
            nearest location that will not jeopardize the safety of others  
            and specifies that moving the UAS does not affect the question  
            of who is at fault in the accident;


          3)In addition, requires the UAS operator to do one of the  
            following:


             a)   Show valid identification (e.g., driver's license or  
               passport), if available, as well as name and current  
               address to the injured person; 


             b)   Locate and provide the owner of property damaged in the  
               accident the name and address of the UAS operator, and show  








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               valid identification if the property owner asks the UAS  
               operator to show identification; or


             c)   Leave a written note on the damaged property that  
               includes the UAS operator's name, address, and a statement  
               of the circumstances of the accident as well as notify the  
               police or sheriff's office.


          4)Makes violation of the bill subject to a misdemeanor penalty,  
            including up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine, or both;


          5)Exempts from the bill a UAS operated under specific  
            authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),  
            in accordance with the terms and conditions of that  
            authorization;


          6)Exempts law enforcement from the bill, including police and  
            fire agencies; and


          7)Defines "unmanned aircraft" and "unmanned aircraft system"  
            consistent with federal law.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee: 


          Potential minor nonreimbursable costs to cities and counties for  
          enforcement, offset to some extent by fine revenues.


          COMMENTS:  










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          1)Purpose of this bill.  This bill seeks to protect people who  
            are injured or whose property is damaged in a UAS (or "drone")  
            accident by requiring UAS operators to remain at the scene of  
            the accident and provide their name and address along with  
            valid identification to the victim and to the police.  Similar  
            to California's vehicular "hit and run" law, if the accident  
            involves property damage and the owner cannot be found, the  
            bill requires UAS operators to leave their contact information  
            on the damaged property.  This bill is author-sponsored.
          2)FAA regulation of commercial UAS in development.  On February  
            15, 2015, the FAA proposed a new framework of regulations to  
            allow the use of small UAS in the airspace from the ground up  
            to 500 feet.  If enacted, the proposed rules would limit  
            flights to non-recreational, daylight uses and would require a  
            commercial UAS pilot to maintain a visual line of sight with  
            the UAS.  Congress is currently considering FAA  
            reauthorization legislation that contains a number of UAS  
            provisions, including a proposed requirement that UAS  
            operators pass an online test, a requirement that UAS contain  
            certain safety features, and a new program to fund  
            interception of UAS that fly to close to airports. 


          3)The federal preemption issue.  Once the FAA has finished  
            promulgating regulations governing the commercial use of UAS,  
            a future court may find that those regulations preempt certain  
            state laws - such as this one, if passed - but much remains  
            uncertain.  According to a December 17, 2015, FAA white paper  
            "[l]aws traditionally related to state and local police power  
            - including land use, zoning, privacy, trespass, and law  
            enforcement operations - generally are not subject to federal  
            regulation."  This bill would appear to fall within the  
            state's police power, because it establishes safety and  
            accident reporting standards to help law enforcement resolve  
            personal injury and property damage accidents that occur when  
            a UAS crashes with people or property on the ground.  As such,  
            the risk of federal preemption of this bill in the future is  
            likely minimal.   









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          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Jennie Bretschneider / P. & C.P. / (916)  
                          319-2200                                         
          FN: 0002963