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Call to Action for Bike-Friendly California Legislation

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The many bike-friendly bills CalBike is tracking and the one bad bill we are opposing are moving through the Senate after passing the Assembly. Several of them have hearings in the next two weeks. CalBike is reaching out strategically to our members who have legislators on key Senate Committees: Transportation, and Judiciary. If you are one of those people, your call or email to your State Senator could make the difference in making California more bikeable, our streets safer for all users, and future generations safer from the climate crisis. 

If your senator isn’t on one of those committees, we’ll be sure to tell you when the issue is up for a floor vote and it’s time for you to reach out.  

Want to do something now? Make a donation to support this critical work. Any amount makes a difference.  

Here’s your guide to emailing and calling to help push bike-friendly bills forward.

AB 371: Save Bike-Share

This bill would impose burdensome and unprecedented insurance requirements on bike-share and scooter-share operators. CalBike would like to see bike and scooter sharing become elements of public transportation systems, operated by transit authorities and priced like other forms of transit. AB 371 would take California in the opposite direction. If it passes, no shared mobility systems, public or private, will be able to operate in our state.

Status:

In the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Hearing Date:

TBD (postponed from 6/22)

Take Action:

  • Use CalBike’s tool to email your senator and tell them to vote NO on AB 371.
  • The bill will come before the Senate Judiciary Committee soon. If your senator is on the committee, call them and urge them to kill AB 371 in committee. Here’s the list of committee members:

AB 122, the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill

Also known as the Idaho stop, the bicycle safety stop allows people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields. The safety stop has been proven to reduce collisions involving bicyclists in states that have adopted it. AB 122 (Boerner Horvath) easily passed the Assembly, but it’s meeting more opposition in the Senate.

Status:

In Senate Transportation Committee

Hearing Date:

Tuesday, 6/29/21

Take Action:

AB 1238, the Freedom to Walk Act

The Freedom to Walk Act would repeal California’s unjust jaywalking laws. These laws shift blame for unsafe driving from car drivers to walkers, are unfairly enforced against Black Californians, and initiate potentially deadly police interactions. AB 1238 (Ting) is an essential step toward safer streets for all.

Status:

In Senate Transportation Committee

Hearing Date:

Tuesday, 6/29/21

Take Action:

AB 117, the E-Bike Affordability Act

CalBike’s E-Bike Affordability Program would help 10,000 low-income Californians buy the cleanest electric vehicle: an electric bike. AB 117 (Boerner Horvath) creates the program, and the budget process will provide the funding to make it happen.

Status:

In Senate Transportation Committee and ongoing budget negotiations

Hearing Date:

Thursday, 6/24/21

Take Action:

AB 1147, Reform Regional Active Transportation Planning

This visionary bill would pave the way for 15-minute neighborhoods and bicycle freeways. AB 1147 (Friedman) will incentivize the kinds of changes California needs to make our communities more livable and climate-resilient.

Status:

In Senate Environmental Quality Committee and ongoing budget negotiations

Hearing Date:

Thursday, 7/1/21

Take Action:

  • Sign CalBike’s petition in support of AB 1147’s forward-thinking active transportation planning reforms
  • If your senator is on the Environmental Quality Committee, contact them and ask them to vote YES on AB 1147:

More bills to watch

AB 43 (Friedman): Changes the 85 percentile rule to allow communities to set lower speed limits

Status:

In Senate Transportation Committee

Hearing Date:

Tuesday, 7/13/21

AB 1401 (Friedman): Ends mandated parking minimums for new buildings near transit, moving California away from the car dependency that’s driving the climate crisis.

Status:

In Senate Governance and Finance Committee

Hearing Date:

Not yet set

Take Action:

  • Sign CalBike’s petition in support of AB 1401 and ending parking minimums near transit.

Contact the Senate Transportation Committee

Senate Transportation Committee members:

Join CalBike’s list to get timely updates on all the bills you care about.

Check out CalBike’s Legislative Watch page for an update on all the bills we’re working on.

BLACK LIVES MATTER

California will never have the equitable, prosperous and inclusive communities that CalBike advocates for until we address and redress anti-Black violence. We want to actively contribute to ending systemic racism, especially in transportation policy, and most especially in bicycling advocacy. We promise to listen and learn how we can best do this work. To our community members who experience the violence of racism on a daily basis: we see you, we hear you, and we stand with you.

Join the movement for better biking in California

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