SB 347: State Remote Piloted Aircraft Act.

(1)Existing federal law, the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, provides for the integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems, commonly known as drones, into the National Airspace System. 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.

The State Aeronautics Act governs various matters relative to aviation in the state, including, among other things, fostering and promoting safety in aeronautics and establishing only those regulations that are essential and clearly within the scope of the authority granted to the Department of Transportation by the Legislature, in order that persons may engage in every phase of aeronautics with the least possible restriction consistent with the safety and the rights of others. A violation of the act is a crime punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment of not more than 6 months, or both.

This bill would enact the State Remote Piloted Aircraft Act. The bill would prohibit a person from operating a remote piloted aircraft in any number of specified manners and would require any person using, operating, or renting a remote piloted aircraft and every commercial operator of a remote piloted aircraft to maintain adequate liability insurance or proof of financial responsibility, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to adopt rules and regulations governing the conditions under which remote piloted aircraft may be operated for the purpose of protecting and ensuring the general public interest and safety and the safety of persons operating remote piloted aircraft. The bill would authorize the department to make and amend general or special rules, orders, and procedures, and establish minimum standards consistent with the act as it deems necessary, to administer the provisions of the act, as specified. The bill would provide that remedies provided by the act are cumulative with any other remedies available under law. The bill would provide that the provisions of the act are severable. The bill would make a violation of any provision of the act or any rule or order issued pursuant to the act punishable as an infraction with a fine not exceeding $250, or as a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding 6 months, or by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

Because the bill would create new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2)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.