California Assembly Passes New Drone Rules For Operators

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The California Assembly approved new rules for drone operators on Thursday.

Some of the changes were in response to drones being spotted near wildfire fighting efforts, leading to the grounding of air support. A helicopter was moved away from a fire outside of Auburn after a hobby drone was spotted in the area. A similar incident happened last year in San Bernardino when firefighting aircraft were grounded because of drones.

"They had to ground the aircraft. The fire kept burning, it actually burned right into the 15 freeway and destroyed over a dozen cars," said Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant.

Assembly Bill 2320 prohibits the use of a drone to bring contraband into a correctional facility, stalk, harass or violate a restraining order or interfere with first responders at the scene of an emergency.

Assembly leader Ian Calderon authored the bills and said they were important to be put into law.

The Federal Aviation Administration is developing drone rules, but those aren't expected until later this year.