Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Senate committee advances bill to regulate drone use for insurance inspections and critical infrastructure
Summary
A Senate committee moved SB 260 forward after debate about homeowner privacy, insurer practices and industry concerns about operational impacts. The bill would set guidelines for unmanned aircraft over critical infrastructure and for insurers’ use of aerial imagery in underwriting and claims.
Senators on the California State Senate Committee on Insurance advanced SB 260 on a 4–0 recorded vote to send the measure to the Appropriations Committee after discussion about consumer privacy and operational concerns raised by insurers.
SB 260, authored and presented by Sen. Aisha Wahab, would establish updated guidelines governing use of unmanned aircraft systems (commonly called drones) over critical infrastructure and for insurance uses such as property inspections and claims assessments. Wahab told the committee the bill is meant to close a gap between rapidly evolving drone technology and older state rules, and to provide safeguards for homeowners whose properties may be photographed without notice.
The author and supporters stressed two consumer-protection goals: (1) require notice to homeowners before aerial…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
