SACRAMENTO, CA --
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger must now decide if birds will take a backseat to airplanes. The State Senate has approved a measure that would give airport officials more authority to kill birds that might interfere with airplanes. The bill was introduced in response to the crash of a US Airways jet in New York's Hudson River after it hit a flock of Canada geese. Many California airport operators have wanted to shoot birds that get too close to runways, but California wildlife officials have threatened to cite airport officials who kill birds. Supporters of the law say the Federal Aviation Administration requires airports to keep birds away from airplanes as much as possible, and this bill would give the airports another tool to do their job.
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