AMEND UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS ACT
Senate Bill 917 (H-2) as reported from House committee
Sponsor: Sen. Peter MacGregor
Senate Bill 922 (H-2) as reported from House committee
Sponsor: Sen. Darwin Booher
House Committee: Communications and Technology
Senate Committee: Transportation
Complete to 12-12-18
SUMMARY:
Senate Bill 917 would amend Section 21 of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act (Public Act 436 of 2016) to expand the prohibition on interfering with the official duties of certain public employees. Currently, the section prohibits an individual from knowingly and intentionally operating an unmanned aircraft system in a manner that interferes with the official duties of search and rescue personnel or of a police officer, firefighter, or paramedic.
The bill would replace the term “police officer” with “law enforcement official” and use the definition found in the Code of Criminal Procedure (MCL 763.7). “Paramedic” would be replaced with “emergency medical services personnel,” which is defined in the Public Health Code (MCL 333.20904).
The bill would also prohibit interference with a state correctional officer, or any other individual employed by the Department of Corrections, and with a local corrections officer.
MCL 259.321
Senate Bill 922 would codify the penalties proposed by House Bill 5495 within the Code of Criminal Procedure and label the offenses as Class F crimes against public safety. This bill is also tie-barred to House Bill 5495, which means that it could not take effect unless House Bill 5495 were also enacted.
MCL 777.16b
Each bill would take effect 90 days after being enacted.
The House Committee on Communications and Technology reported an H-2 substitute for each bill. The substitute for SB 917 added “or any other individual employed by the Department of Corrections” to the provisions described above. The substitute for SB 922 replaced a tie-bar to SB 921 with a tie-bar to HB 5495.
BRIEF DISCUSSION:
The bills are understood to be part of a package of bills addressing unmanned aircraft systems (drones). The bill package would implement some of the recommendations of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Task Force, which submitted its final report to the governor and the legislature on November 20, 2017. Other bills in the package include House Bills 5494, 5495, and 5496.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Under SB 917, individuals found in violation could be charged with a misdemeanor and/or fined. The bill would have no fiscal impact on the state, but would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on local units of government. The fiscal impact would depend on the number of individuals convicted of a misdemeanor. New misdemeanor convictions would increase costs related to county jails and/or local misdemeanor probation supervision. The costs of local incarceration in a county jail and local misdemeanor probation supervision, and how the costs are financed, vary by jurisdiction. Any fiscal impact on the judiciary and local court systems would depend on how provisions of the bill affected caseloads and related administrative costs. Any increase in penal fine revenues would increase funding for local libraries, which are the constitutionally designated recipients of those revenues.
SB 922 amends sentencing guidelines and would not have a direct fiscal impact on the state or on local units of government.
Legislative Analysts: Emily S. Smith
Jenny McInerney
Fiscal Analyst: Robin Risko
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.