By Timm Herdt
Ventura County Star
SACRAMENTO — Siding with the measure’s critics in law enforcement, Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday vetoed a bill cowritten by Assemblyman Jeff Gorell, R-Camarillo, that would have required police agencies to obtain a warrant before using a drone for surveillance.
AB1327 would have let law enforcement agencies use drones without a warrant in limited circumstances, but in his veto Brown said those exceptions were too narrow.
“There are undoubtedly circumstances where a warrant is appropriate,” Brown wrote. “The bill’s exceptions, however, appear to be too narrow and could impose requirements beyond what is required by either the Fourth Amendment or the privacy provisions in the California Constitution.”
The bill would have allowed the warrantless use of drones in emergency situations in which the lives of first responders were in danger, in inspections of land for illegal marijuana growing and in searches for fires.
In other circumstances, police agencies would have had to produce probable cause and obtain a search warrant.
Supporters argued that the provision requiring warrants was necessary to protect personal privacy at a time when civilian use of unmanned aerial vehicles is expected to become more common.
Among those who had urged Brown to sign the bill was Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
The bill was opposed by the associations representing county sheriffs and police chiefs, which argued that drones should be treated the same as manned aircraft, which may be routinely used for surveillance.
The measure had passed on broad, bipartisan votes in both houses of the Legislature.
Copyright 2014 Ventura County Star