California signed its 400-foot drone ban around outdoor events and amusement parks. It starts January 1, and a Part 107 certificate alone does not exempt you.

That last clause matters. Major league games, large college football games, and major motorsports events already sit under a standing FAA flight restriction, and the state definition steps aside wherever an FAA restriction applies. The state rule fills the gap below that: amphitheaters, festival grounds, minor league parks, and other outdoor venues whose events no FAA restriction covers. The amusement park ring has no event condition at all. It applies whenever you are within 400 feet of the park.

The exemptions are narrow. A pilot may fly inside the ring with consent from the venue operator, or as an employee of the venue or park on official business. Utility workers and transportation agency staff are exempt on official business. So are firefighters, police, and medical and emergency crews doing their jobs. The commercial exemption needs four things at once. The pilot must hold an FAA certificate, waiver, or other authorization, fly for a commercial purpose, hold authorization for commercial flights beyond visual line of sight, and follow all federal rules. A standard Part 107 remote pilot certificate does not meet that test by itself. Even for exempt operators, the statute says it does not authorize capturing copyrighted images or video of the event or park to distribute without the venue operator's authorization.