DRONE ZONES: BILLS ADVANCE IN CA TO CRACKDOWN ON UNMANNED AIRCRAFT

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By Miriam Raftery

September 2, 2015 (Sacramento) - An estimated 700,000 drones are expected to be sold in the U.S. this year to hobbyists –a 63% increase over last year, the Consumer Electronics Association reports.   Now the California Legislature is scrambling to enact laws to restrict some uses of those drones after numerous complaints of safety and privacy concerns.

The State Senate has sent a bill by Senator Ted Gaines to the Governor that would make it a crime to fly a drone less than 350 feet above private property, without permission of the owner.

Gaines said, “Privacy issues, especially in today’s fast-paced Internet and technology era, are among the most important policy issues facing Californians. We must protect the public’s right to privacy and, more importantly, their safety.”

Another measure by Gaines would ban drones over prisons.  The bill comes after a prison in Maryland found efforts to smuggle contraband to prisoners using a drone.

Yet another bill, SB 167 also coauthored by Gaines, would criminalize flying drones near firefighting aircraft and give fire or law enforcement officials the right to disable such drones.


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