Governor vetoes drone and other redundant misconduct bills, California

Los Angeles Times/Patrick McGreevy, Contact Reporter/Sacramento, 10/3/15. "With strong message against creating new crimes, Gov. Brown vetoes drone bills."

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"Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday vetoed a trio of bills that would have prohibited civilians from flying aerial drones over wildfires, schools, prisons and jails, despite alarm over close calls with firefighting aircraft.

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The governor rejected those and six other bills that would have created new crimes or penalties for misconduct including using bullhooks to handle elephants, allowing explosions in drug labs and removing GPS tracking devices from paroled sex offenders. Brown said in a veto message that there are already laws available to deal with any problems addressed by the bills.

'Each of these bills creates a new crime -- usually by finding a novel way to characterize and criminalize conduct that is already proscribed,' Brown wrote. 'This multiplication and particularization of criminal behavior creates increasing complexity without commensurate benefit.' "  Read article.

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Related article, supporting legislation.  BuzzFeed News/Jim Dalrymple II, Reporter, 10/3/15. "California Governor shoots down proposed drone laws." ....  The bill that would have outlawed flying drones over wildfires carried stiff penalties, with offenders facing up to six months in jail and $5,000 in fines. It has moved through California’s legislature at the tail end of a summer during which crews repeatedly had to call off airborne firefighting efforts due to drones buzzing above the flames. Drones became a problem during fires in Utah, Canada, and California. In one high-profile incident, drones were spotted above a blaze that destroyed cars after jumping across Interstate 15 in California’s Cajon Pass. 

Related article, supporting veto.  Wired/Business/Klint Finley, 9/10/15, "Jerry Brown shoots down drone privacy bill." "California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have prohibited people from flying drones lower than 350 feet above private property without permission. .... “Drone technology certainly raises novel issues that merit careful examination,” Brown, also a Democrat, wrote in his veto letter to the Senate. 'This bill, however, while well-intentioned, could expose the occasional hobbyist and the FAA-approved commercial user alike to burdensome litigation and new causes of action.' ”

Note photographs.  Camera by Don McCullough on Flickr from Boston Magazine. Rescue defibrillator by EPA from Daily Mail/Science tech/UK.  Box  image face page  to Forbes Tech/Amazon article.

Posted by Kathy Meeh