• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechDrones

California governor shoots down drone bill

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 10, 2015, 9:41 AM ET
Inside The UAS Mapping 2014 Reno Symposium
A DJI Spreading Wings S900 multirotor drone flies at the Turf Farm during the UAS Mapping 2014 Reno Symposium in Reno, Nevada, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014. The first mapping calibration test course for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) will be established by American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) at the Reno Stead airport, an FAA-designated UAS test site, in conjunction with the UAS Mapping 2014 Reno symposium. Photographer: Chip Chipman/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Chip Chipman — Bloomberg via Getty Images

Score one for drone fans.

Late Wednesday, California governor Jerry Brown vetoed proposed legislation that would have limited the use of drones (aka unmanned aerial vehicles) from flying less than 350 feet above private property without the owner’s express consent.

In his note explaining the veto of Senate Bill 142, which passed in late August, Brown said while increased drone use does pose problems, this law would have “exposed the occasional hobbyist and the FAA-approved commercial user to burdensome litigation and new causes of action.”

An array of commercial forces, including Amazon (AMZN) and Google (GOOG) (both of which want to use drones commercially) opposed this bill, as did other interest groups including the National Press Photographers Association. One use of commercial drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs, is aerial photography of events not viewable from ground level.

But clearly drone use poses big issues, from crash landings at public events (including the U.S. Open) to do-it-yourselfers who mount guns on UAVs. Not to mention that in California, firefighters blamed the presence of drones for delaying their response to a wildfire near Los Angeles.

So while this legislation may be dead, the debate over limitations on drone use will surely rage on.

For more on the commercial drone market, see the video below.

Subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the business of technology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

amit
AISoftware
$96 billion giant ServiceNow doesn’t see a ‘SaaSpocalypse.’ It sees the ‘hard lift, heavy lifting’ phase just beginning
By Nick LichtenbergMay 7, 2026
3 hours ago
Indosat CEO Vikram Sinha is building an AI for Indonesia’s local languages. Can he make a business case for sovereignty? 
AsiaAsia Agenda
Indosat CEO Vikram Sinha is building an AI for Indonesia’s local languages. Can he make a business case for sovereignty? 
By Nicholas GordonMay 7, 2026
6 hours ago
PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of Twitter, Elon Musk attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre on June 16, 2023 in Paris, France. Elon Musk is visiting Paris for the VivaTech show where he gives a conference in front of 4,000 technology enthusiasts. He also took the opportunity to meet Bernard Arnaud, CEO of LVMH and the French President. Emmanuel Macron, who has already met Elon Musk twice in recent months, hopes to convince him to set up a Tesla battery factory in France, his pioneer company in electric cars. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
AIElon Musk
Elon Musk called Anthropic ‘evil’ 3 months ago. Now he’s taking $4 billion to become its data landlord
By Eva RoytburgMay 7, 2026
8 hours ago
keynes
AIdisruption
The AI job apocalypse is ‘unhelpful marketing, bad economics and worse history,’ a16z says
By Nick LichtenbergMay 7, 2026
10 hours ago
Stripe CEO Patrick Collison says a wave of token theft is wreaking havoc on the AI economy
CybersecurityStripe
Stripe CEO Patrick Collison says a wave of token theft is wreaking havoc on the AI economy
By Jeff John RobertsMay 7, 2026
10 hours ago
people watching tv
Arts & EntertainmentGen Z
Gen Z just broke the streaming model: A majority subscribe, binge, and cancel over and over, study finds
By Jake AngeloMay 7, 2026
11 hours ago

Most Popular

U.S. Treasury will have to borrow $2 trillion this year just to continue functioning—more than $166 billion every month
Economy
U.S. Treasury will have to borrow $2 trillion this year just to continue functioning—more than $166 billion every month
By Eleanor PringleMay 7, 2026
17 hours ago
Tokyo is throwing out its strict office dress code and asking workers to wear shorts amid the war in Iran energy crisis
Success
Tokyo is throwing out its strict office dress code and asking workers to wear shorts amid the war in Iran energy crisis
By Emma BurleighMay 5, 2026
2 days ago
A Michigan farm town voted down plans for a giant OpenAI-Oracle data center. Weeks later, construction began
Magazine
A Michigan farm town voted down plans for a giant OpenAI-Oracle data center. Weeks later, construction began
By Sharon GoldmanMay 6, 2026
2 days ago
Mark Zuckerberg once gave a Facebook engineer startup advice at 2 a.m. while 'hanging out with all the interns'—she quit and raised millions after
Success
Mark Zuckerberg once gave a Facebook engineer startup advice at 2 a.m. while 'hanging out with all the interns'—she quit and raised millions after
By Orianna Rosa RoyleMay 6, 2026
1 day ago
The 'PayPal Mafia' built a $1.5 billion fintech pioneer. The company they left behind is on life support
Startups & Venture
The 'PayPal Mafia' built a $1.5 billion fintech pioneer. The company they left behind is on life support
By Eva RoytburgMay 6, 2026
1 day ago
The IRS may owe COVID-era refunds to tens of millions of taxpayers. Here’s who could qualify
Personal Finance
The IRS may owe COVID-era refunds to tens of millions of taxpayers. Here’s who could qualify
By Sydney LakeMay 6, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.