California lawmakers approve drone trespassing crime bills

The Senate Bill 142 basically will require drones that fly under 350 feet to get the permission of property owners that it flies over.

In the state Senate, lawmakers voted 40-0 to approve AB856 by Assemblyman Ian Calderon, D-Whittier, classifying drone use to take pictures or video on private property as an invasion of privacy.

The bill follows numerous public incidents with drones, including incidences of drones impeding firefighting efforts. It passed unanimously and returns to the Assembly.

But the California bill, if it becomes law, could deal a stiffer blow to the aspirations by companies like Amazon.com that are aiming to make deliveries using drones.

The paper reported that the sponsors of the legislation argue that drone flights at lower attitudes than the threshold of their bill should be considered trespassing.

Meanwhile, the Assembly approved SB142 by Santa Barbara Democratic Sen.

Other lawmakers suggested the state should wait for federal regulators to develop policies. The bill clarifies that the rules pertaining to trespassing also apply to entry by remotely operated aerial vehicles on private property, she said in a statement earlier this month. This technically means that if the drone were to fly over a neighborhood, every house that it passes over will need to grant it permission to fly over its property. “The Supreme Court has ruled that property rights do not extend infinitely into the sky”.