California Gov. Brown Vetoes 3 Drone Bills

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) vetoed three bills on unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, proposed by state Sen. Ted Gaines (R), citing concerns with criminalizing conduct when the state’s prison and jail populations “have exploded,” in a veto message Saturday. Gaines said SB-168 would “protect forests, property and the lives of citizens, firefighters and emergency personnel from drone interference” by increasing fines for drone use that interferes with firefighting and emergency responders, in a September 2015 news release. “The bill also seeks to grant civil immunity to any emergency responder who damages an unmanned aircraft in the course of firefighting, air ambulance, or search-and-rescue operations,” the release said. Gaines said he proposed the bill amid “alarming reports of private, unauthorized drones causing mission-critical aircraft to be grounded during firefighting and medical response operations, putting pilots, firefighters, civilians and property at unnecessary risk.” SB-170 would have made it a felony to use a drone to deliver contraband into a prison or county jail, Gaines website said. The legislation would have also made it a misdemeanor to fly a drone over a prison as well as to intentionally capture images of a prison using a drone. SB-271 would have prohibited the use of drones to fly over or capture images of school grounds, without written authorization from the school district, Gaines’ website said. Brown encouraged the legislature to “pause and reflect on how our system of criminal justice could be made more human, more just and more cost-effective,” in his veto message, saying the bills increased the complexity and particularization of criminal behavior without a clear benefit.