Active Transportation Slate Hangs in Suspense in CA Senate

As we near the end of the legislative calendar, it’s crunch time for bills that aim to make biking and walking safer for all Californians. CalBike supports a slate of six bills currently in the Suspense File in the Senate Appropriations Committee. We only have until September 1, 2023, to move them forward, or these measures will fail.

What’s in the Active Transportation Slate?

This Active Transportation Slate includes six excellent bills that deserve to become law.

• AB 7 – Project Selection Process Support: Requires state transportation agencies to incorporate environmental and equity principles into their project selection process, focusing transportation toward climate-friendly projects in alignment with California’s goals. 
• AB 251 – Deadly Oversized Cars: Convenes a task force to study the relationship between vehicle weight and injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists. This measure is an excellent first step in considering the safety of vehicles for people outside cars and trucks as well as passengers inside them.
• AB 413 – Daylighting to Save Lives: Prohibits the stopping, standing, or parking of a vehicle within 20 feet of any unmarked or marked crosswalk. Increasing visibility at intersections is a critical step toward making them safer for people biking and walking.
• AB 610 – Free Transit for Youth: Establishes a pilot program that provides grants to transit agencies for the costs of creating and implementing free youth transit passes to persons attending certain educational institutions. This measure will support our struggling public transit systems and help kids and families get to school.
• AB 645 – Automated Speed Enforcement: Creates a multi-city pilot to test the effectiveness of speed cameras to reduce dangerous speeding. A similar bill has been introduced before but never made it this far. It has strong support from the pilot cities.
• AB 1266 – No More Warrants for Infractions: Eliminates bench warrants for minor infractions, reducing the harassment and criminalization of disadvantaged people stopped by the police while biking and walking.

What is the Suspense File?

All bills that impact the state budget go to the Suspense File in Appropriations. Unfortunately, bills may also be quietly killed without much debate while in suspense. For more on this process, check out our Insider post on the appropriations process.

Thank you for supporting the Active Transportation Slate! If you haven’t sent an email to your senator yet, please take a moment to fill out the form. The more voices raised in support of better biking and walking, the safer we can make our streets.