Bill Text: CA AB737 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Space flight liability.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-06-13 - Re-referred to Com. on JUD. [AB737 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB737-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 737	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 4, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 3, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 19, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Fox
    (   Coauthors:  
Assembly Members   Bonilla,  
  Brown,     Daly,
    Garcia,  
  Harkey,    
Roger Hernández,     Muratsuchi,
    Perea,  
  Torres,    
Wagner,     Wieckowski, 
   and Williams   )

    (   Coauthor:   Senator
  Berryhill   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2013

    An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 12100.1)
to Chapter 1.6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code, relating to unmanned aircraft systems, and declaring the
urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.   An act to
amend Sections 2210 and 2212 of, to add Section 2213 to, and to
repeal Article 5 (commencing with Section 2210) of Chapter 5 of Title
7 of Part 4 of Division 3 of, the Civil Code, relating to civil
liability. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 737, as amended, Fox.  Governor's Office of Business
and Economic Development: unmanned aircraft systems: test sites.
  Space flight liability.  
   The Space Flight Liability and Immunity Act requires a space
flight entity, as defined, to collect a signed warning statement from
each participant in space flight activities. The warning statement
is required to inform the participant that there is limited civil
liability for bodily injury sustained as a result of the inherent
risks associated with space flight activities. The act limits the
liability of a space flight entity that complies with these
provisions. The act also provides that limited liability under these
provisions does not limit or prevent the liability of a space flight
entity that commits an act of gross negligence or willful or wanton
disregard for the safety of the participant, that intentionally
causes a participant injury, or that has actual knowledge or
reasonably should have known of a dangerous condition, as provided.
 
   This bill would include a manufacturer or supplier of components,
services, or vehicles that have been reviewed by the United States
Federal Aviation Administration as part of issuing a license, permit,
or other authorization pursuant to specified provisions of federal
law relating to commercial space launch activities as a space flight
entity with limited liability for any participant injury. This bill
would additionally provide that limited liability under these
provisions does not limit or prevent the liability of a space flight
entity that manufactures or supplies a product with a defect. This
bill would prohibit a space flight entity's liability from being
limited unless the space flight entity presents to and files with the
Secretary of State a certification of insurance, as specified. This
bill would repeal the Space Flight Liability and Immunity Act on July
1, 2021.  
   Existing federal law, the Federal Aviation Administration
Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, provides for the integration of
civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system by
September 30, 2015. Existing federal law requires the Administrator
of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop and implement
operational and certification requirements for the operation of
public unmanned aircraft systems in the national airspace system by
December 31, 2015. Existing federal law requires the administrator to
establish a program, as prescribed, to integrate unmanned aircraft
systems into the national airspace system at 6 test sites. Pursuant
to this requirement, the administrator announced a request for
proposals from state and local governments to establish these test
sites. 
   Existing law establishes the Governor's Office of Business and
Economic Development, under the control of a director who is
responsible to the Governor, to serve as the Governor's lead entity
for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues
relating to business development, private sector investment, and
economic growth. The office, among others, makes recommendations to
the Governor and the Legislature regarding policies, programs, and
actions to advance statewide economic goals.  
   This bill would require the director to prepare a proposal to
establish a test site in California and would authorize the director
to consult with the Governor's Military Council and other specified
entities in developing the proposal. This bill would require the
director to coordinate with any local government that submits a
proposal.  
    This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute. 
   Vote:  2/3   majority  . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 2210 of the   Civil
Code   is amended to read: 
   2210.  For purposes of this article:
   (a) "Participant" means a space flight participant as defined in
Section 50902 of Title 51 of the United States Code.
   (b) "Participant injury" means a bodily injury, including death,
emotional injury, or property damage, sustained by the participant.
   (c) "Space flight activities" means launch services or reentry
services as defined in Section 50902 of Title 51 of the United States
Code.
   (d) "Space flight entity" means any public or private entity that
holds, either directly or through a corporate subsidiary or parent, a
license, permit, or other authorization issued by the United States
Federal Aviation Administration pursuant to  the federal
Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act   Chapter 509
(commencing with Section 50901)  of  2004 (51 U.S.C.
Sec. 50905 et seq.),   Subtitle V of Title 51 of the
United States Code,  including, but not limited to, a safety
approval and a payload determination.  "Space flight entity"
shall also include a manufacturer or supplier of components,
services, or vehicles that have been reviewed by the United States
Federal Aviation Administration as part of issuing a license, permit,
or other authorization pursuant to Chapter 509 (commencing with
Section 50901) of Subtitle V of Title 51 of the United States Code.

   SEC. 2.    Section 2212 of the   Civil Code
  is amended to read: 
   2212.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (c), a space flight
entity shall not be liable for participant injury arising out of
space flight activities if both of the following apply:
   (1) The participant has been informed of the risks associated with
space flight activities as required by federal law and Section 2211.

   (2) The participant has given his or her informed consent that he
or she is voluntarily participating in space flight activities after
having been informed of the risks associated with those activities,
as required by federal law and Section 2211.
   (b) If informed consent is given pursuant to subdivision (a), a
participant, his or her representative, including the heirs,
administrators, executors, assignees, next of kin, and estate of the
participant, or any person who attempts to bring a claim on behalf of
the participant for a participant injury, shall not be authorized to
maintain an action against, or recover from, a space flight entity
for a participant injury that resulted from the risks associated with
space flight activities, except as provided in subdivision (c).
   (c) Nothing in this section shall prevent or limit the liability
of a space flight entity that does any of the following:
   (1) Commits an act or omission that constitutes gross negligence
or willful or wanton disregard for the safety of the participant, and
that act or omission proximately causes a participant injury.
   (2) Intentionally causes a participant injury.
   (3) Has actual knowledge or reasonably should have known of a
dangerous condition on the land or in the facilities or equipment
used in space flight activities and the dangerous condition
proximately causes injury, damage, or death to the participant. 
   (4) Manufactures or supplies a product with a defect. 
   (d) Any limitation on legal liability afforded by this section to
a space flight entity is in addition to any other limitations of
legal liability otherwise provided by law. 
   (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
liability of a manufacturer of a part or component used in space
flight activities if a defective part or component proximately causes
an injury to the participant.  
   (e) A space flight entity shall present to and file with the
Secretary of State a certificate of insurance coverage in the amount
of one million dollars ($1,000,000) or more that covers liability by
the space flight entity for all space flight activities. A space
flight entity that fails to maintain this insurance requirement shall
not have their liability limited pursuant to subdivision (a). 
   SEC. 3.    Section 2213 is added to the  
Civil Code   , to read:  
   2213.  This article shall remain in effect only until July 1,
2021, and as of that date is repealed.  
  SECTION 1.    The Legislature finds and declares
all of the following:
   (a) California has experienced deeper and more sustained job
losses in the aerospace manufacturing industry than has the rest of
the country over the last two decades. From 1990 through 2012,
payrolls in California's aerospace manufacturing industry fell by
65.9 percent compared to a 34.6-percent decrease in the rest of the
country and a 43.7-percent decrease in the country as a whole.
   (b) In 2010, employment in California's aerospace manufacturing
industries totaled 109,700 jobs. Over three-fifths of these jobs were
in the aerospace products and parts manufacturing sector, and the
remainder were in the search, detection, guidance, aeronautical, and
nautical systems and instruments manufacturing sector. The aerospace
manufacturing industry paid wages totaling $10.7 billion in 2010.
Nearly 3 out of every 10 jobs in the American guided missiles and
space vehicles manufacturing industry were located in California in
2010.
   (c) On February 14, 2012, President Obama signed into law the
Federal Aviation Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. The act
requires the Federal Aviation Administration to designate six sites
throughout the United States as unmanned aircraft systems test sites
in order to safely integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the
national airspace system.
   (d) Unmanned aircraft systems represent one of the fastest growing
segments of the aerospace industry. Given the potential for
defense-related cutbacks currently under discussion at the national
level, it is in California's interest to pursue the location of an
unmanned aircraft systems test site in California.
   (e) The expanded use of unmanned aircraft systems represents a
major step in aviation innovation and will present economic
opportunities for the communities that are selected for these test
sites and for the aerospace industry.
   (f) A study conducted by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle
Systems International indicates that the industry has the potential
to create 100,000 jobs in the provision of unmanned aircraft in the
two largest markets for unmanned aircraft, namely agriculture and
public safety.
   (g) California has a well-established and highly developed
aerospace industry that has a skilled and experienced workforce and a
tradition of entrepreneurship and innovation.
   (h) California has a network of educational and research
institutions that has helped foster innovation in the aerospace
industry and develop a high technology sector.
   (i) Aerospace manufacturing jobs are high-paying jobs providing
liveable wages that spur economic growth.
   (j) The development of a coordinated proposal for California to
establish an unmanned aircraft systems test site can be accomplished
only by bringing together advocates, policymakers, industry, local
governments, and the public to address concerns, obtain information,
research issues, and evaluate alternative proposals. 

  SEC. 2.    Article 7 (commencing with Section
12100.1) is added to Chapter 1.6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2
of the Government Code, to read:

      Article 7.  Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Sites


   12100.1.  (a) The director shall prepare a proposal to establish
an unmanned aircraft systems test site in California according to the
directions contained in the Federal Aviation Administration's
Screening Information Request DTFACT-13-R-00002. The director shall
complete the preparation of this proposal and submit this proposal no
later than May 6, 2013.
   (b) In preparing and developing the proposal, the director may
consult with the Governor's Military Council and other relevant
entities, including, but not limited to:
   (1) The Office of Planning and Research.
   (2) The Military Department.
   (3) The Department of Veterans Affairs.
   (4) The Employment Development Department.
   (5) The Department of Transportation.
   (6) Representatives of the aerospace industry.
   (7) The California Unmanned Aircraft Systems Portal Consortium.
   (8) The Southern California Unmanned Systems Alliance.
   (9) Any other California applicant.
   (10) Representatives of local government.
   (11) Education and training entities.
   12100.3.  The director shall coordinate with any local government
that submits a proposal to establish a test site to the Federal
Aviation Administration.  
  SEC. 3.    This act is an urgency statute
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health,
or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and
shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity
are:
   In order to develop a coordinated proposal to establish an
unmanned aircraft systems test site in California before the deadline
set by the Federal Aviation Administration, it is necessary that
this act take effect immediately.