Bill Text: CA SJR18 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Small unmanned aircraft systems.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-05-20 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 43, Statutes of 2016. [SJR18 Detail]

Download: California-2015-SJR18-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SJR 18	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Wolk
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Dodd)

                        JULY 16, 2015

   Relative to small unmanned aircraft systems.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SJR 18, as amended, Wolk. Small unmanned aircraft systems.
   This measure would request the President of the United States and
the United States Secretary of Transportation to allow for the
operation of small unmanned aircraft systems by farmers and rangeland
managers pursuant to emergency rules adopted by the 
administration using its emergency powers,  
administration,  as specified.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, In the western United States, water is a vital and scarce
resource, the availability of which has and continues to
circumscribe growth, development, economic well-being, and
environmental quality of life; and
   WHEREAS, The wise use, conservation, development, and management
of our water resources is critical to maintaining human life, health,
safety, and property; and
   WHEREAS, The western United States is currently experiencing
serious drought conditions that are predicted to worsen; and
   WHEREAS, Agricultural irrigation uses a significant amount of
water, making the agricultural sector one of the most important
sectors to examine when considering water conservation; and
   WHEREAS, Even modest improvements in agricultural water use can
result in significant amounts of water not being depleted regionwide,
which can then be utilized elsewhere; and
   WHEREAS, Precision agricultural management studies have shown that
farmers can reduce the amount of water, fertilizer, and pesticide
needed by their fields by utilizing high-resolution, high-quality
remotely sensed imagery to guide their application efforts of water,
fertilizer, and pesticide; and
   WHEREAS, Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) have the
capability to quickly provide expansive, high-resolution, and
high-quality remotely sensed imagery that can measure specific bands
in the solar spectrum, such as the thermal infrared band, which
allows farmers to better understand and manage their water use; and
   WHEREAS, The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently in
the process of adopting rules for the usage of sUAS in agricultural
management; and
   WHEREAS, Flights of sUAS, for the purposes of precision
agricultural management, could occur safely at low altitudes, in
rural areas removed from other air traffic and human populations, and
in accordance with the FAA's proposed guidelines; and
   WHEREAS, Small unmanned aircraft systems have been used in
precision agricultural management in Japan for a decade, successfully
optimizing and monitoring the management of 2.5 million acres of
farmland, 40 percent of which are rice fields, without any
significant reported incidents; and
   WHEREAS, Flights of sUAS also have the capacity for detecting
invasive plant species that deplete high amounts of water such as
yellow star thistle, arundo, tamarisk, and cheatgrass, which serve no
agricultural purpose and removal of which would help in water
conservation efforts; and
   WHEREAS, The use of sUAS is an emerging technology and has great
promise for the development of models that forecast and predict
economic impacts of droughts and meteorological phenomena; now,
therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That, due to the severity of the drought
gripping the western United States, the California Legislature
respectfully requests the President of the United States and the
United States Secretary of Transportation, more specifically the FAA,
to allow for the operation of sUAS by farmers and rangeland managers
pursuant to emergency rules adopted by the administration 
using its emergency powers and  before the FAA rules for
sUAS are finalized. The emergency rules should be based on the
proposed FAA rules for sUAS that were released  in  February
2015 and that incorporate all of the following:
   (a) That the emergency FAA rules for sUAS operation be applicable
to counties located in the western portion of the United States that
are projected to be in drought during the current growing season, as
defined by  the  National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Association's Seasonal Drought Outlook.
   (b) That the emergency FAA rules for sUAS operation allow farmers
to contract with sUAS flight service providers to execute missions on
their behalf  in the airspace overlying lands that they own or
control  under the proposed FAA rules for sUAS.
   (c) That the emergency FAA rules for sUAS operations that allow
universities and government agencies seeking to operate or procure
providers for sUAS missions for drought-related research or precision
management applications be given expedited approval.
   (d) That the emergency FAA rules for sUAS operation also allow
farmers and rangeland managers to use sUAS imagery to detect highly
water-depletive invasive species on their land or public lands that
they manage; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of
the Senate, each Senator and Representative from California in the
Congress of the United States, and the Federal Aviation
Administration.
        ____ CORRECTIONS  Text--Pages 2 and 3.
                                       ____