Bike and Pedestrian Safety Bills on Gov. Newsom’s Desk 2024

For Immediate Release:  9/6/24

Contact:  Kendra Ramsey, executive director, CalBike, kramsey@calbike.org, 707-469-3387

SACRAMENTO – With the conclusion of California’s legislative year, eight bills sponsored or supported by CalBike are now on the governor’s desk. The governor has until September 30th to sign or veto bills. If he takes no action, the bill becomes law.

“This legislative session was momentous for California’s bicyclists and pedestrians,” said Jared Sanchez, policy director at CalBike. “The eight bills now on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk are significant opportunities to make our transportation system safer, especially for vulnerable road users. These bills will also help Californians switch to less polluting, active transportation modes with far less impact on the climate than a car trip.”

Complete Streets Bill, SB 960 (Wiener): Sponsored by CalBike, this bill would require all transportation projects within the state SHOPP funding program to provide comfortable, convenient, and connected facilities for people biking, walking, and taking transit, as well as those in cars and trucks.

Safer Vehicles Save Lives Bill, SB 961 (Wiener): Sponsored by CalBike, this bill will require most cars, trucks, and buses sold in California to include passive intelligent speed assist (ISA) by 2030. ISA gives drivers a signal when they exceed the speed limit by 10 miles per hour and can help avoid expensive speeding tickets and prevent speed-related collisions, saving lives.

Unsafe Speed Penalties, SB 1509 (Stern): This bill would increase penalties for speeding more than 25 mph over the speed limit on roads with speed limits of 55 mph or less.

Transportation Accountability Act, AB 2086 (Schiavo): This bill will require Caltrans to publicly account for where California’s transportation dollars go. It will be an essential tool for Californians who want to ensure our spending matches our climate and equity goals.

Banning Bridge Tolls for People Walking and Biking, AB 2669 (Ting): This bill makes permanent a measure that sunsets next year, allowing toll-free crossings for people who walk or bike across toll bridges. It will have the biggest impact in the Bay Area, where several toll bridges have bicycle and pedestrian lanes.

Bike Lanes in Coastal Areas, SB 689 (Blakespear): This bill limits the ability of the Coastal Commission to block the development of new bikeways on existing roads in coastal areas.

Limits on Class III Bikeways, SB 1216 (Blakespear): This bill would ban the use of state funding to build Class III bikeways on roads with speed limits over 30 mph. Class III bikeways, often marked with “sharrows,” are lanes shared by bike riders and car drivers. They are dangerous on fast streets and should not be substituted for protective infrastructure.

E-Bike Battery Safety Standards, SB 1271 (Min): This bill requires all e-bikes sold in California to use batteries with safety certifications. It will prevent most, if not all, battery fires, as those are usually caused by substandard batteries.