• Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) has introduced a bill to set comprehensive limits around the use of drones near critical infrastructure such as bridges and power plants as well as in state parks and wildlife refuges, on private property, and around the State Capitol.
Senate Bill 868, is partly modeled on legislation recently enacted by the city of Chicago, and would establish a comprehensive framework for drone use that prioritizes public safety, privacy, and the values of Californians.
“From helping farmers to responding to disasters, there are many innovative and extremely valuable uses for drones, and those uses should be encouraged and allowed to continue,” Jackson said in a press release. “But irresponsible or even dangerous operators and their drones should not be able to threaten our safety, our private property, the critical infrastructure we need to keep our state running, or our beloved public parks and wildlife refuges. Nearly every day, we hear of another potentially dangerous or destructive incident involving a drone. We cannot wait for disaster to strike before setting clear rules that provide certainty for everyone while keeping the public safe.”
SB 868, the State Remote Piloted Aircraft Act, would place limits on drone use; prohibit the weaponizing of drones; prohibit reckless operation of drones; and require comercial drone operators to obtain liability insurance.
The bill would continue to allow the use of drones for newsgathering and would authorize local governments to create additional drone regulations in their communities if needed.
Last year, Jackson authored SB 142, which would have prohibited drones from trespassing on private property without the owner’s permission and from invading Californians’ privacy. Although the bill received bipartisan support, it was vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown.
The first hearing of SB 868 has not yet been set.
• On Jan. 16, Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) was honored at the 27th Annual Tri-County Labor Council Leader of the Year Dinner in Oxnard. Longtime labor leader Marilyn Valenzuela presented Capps with the Marilyn Valenzuela Labor Support Award.
“American workers and organized labor have built the middle class from the ground up and are the backbone of our economy and our country,” Capps said in a press release. “As a longtime member of a union myself and then as an advocate for unions and organized labor in Congress, I have been proud to spend my entire career advocating for hardworking families everywhere. That is why it is such an honor to be recognized by my friends and colleagues in the labor community.”
This article appears in Jan 21-28, 2016.