Three new bills would have made it a crime to fly drones over wildfires, prisons, and schools. However, in a message Saturday, Gov. Jerry Brown criticized the proliferation of new criminal laws.
A drone above Old Bethpage, New York, on Sept. 5, 2015.
Bruce Bennett / Getty Images
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.
Lawmakers in California's Senate and Assembly passed the bill Sept. 11.
Another bill — also vetoed by Brown Saturday — would have made it a misdemeanor to fly a drone over a jail or prison. Lawmakers approved the bill in early September, just days after officials in Maryland arrested two people for plotting to smuggle contraband into a jail using a drone.
In August, a drone also dropped drugs into a prison yard in Ohio.
The final drone bill vetoed by Brown Saturday would have made it an infraction to fly an unmanned aircraft at low altitudes over schools.
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