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Tag Archive for: legislation watch

Legislative Update: Active Transportation Wins Outnumber Losses as Bills Head to the Governor

September 6, 2022/by Jared Sanchez

The 2022 California legislative session included an impressive number of bike-friendly bills. At the end of the session on August 31, the active transportation scorecard is impressive: 

  • 3 bills have already been signed into law
  • 16 bike-friendly bills are waiting for the governor’s signature
  • 4 bills died in the legislature
  • 1 bill was withdrawn by the author (in the face of a presumptive veto)
  • 1 bill that will harm active transportation passed the legislature

End of session tally: 19 wins and 6 losses. Of course, this isn’t the end, since 16 bills still need the governor’s signature, and he has an unfortunate history of vetoing excellent, bike-friendly bills that have strong support in the legislature and the community. We will continue to advocate for all these bills — and you can, too. Please email Governor Newsom and ask him to sign all the remaining bills in the active transportation slate.



All the bike-friendly bills in the governor’s hands 

Among the many excellent bills that passed the legislature are CalBike’s two sponsored bills. 

The Plan for the Future Bill (SB 932, Portantino) will require general plans to include active transportation in their circulation elements and then actually build them rather than sitting on those plans. 

The Freedom to Walk Bill (AB 2147, Ting) is a modified version of a bill we sponsored last year to decriminalize safe midblock crossings. The author reworked the bill to overcome the objections that led Governor Newsom to veto it last year, so this bill doesn’t decriminalize jaywalking but prevents police from issuing tickets unless the street crossing is truly dangerous. It will prevent over-enforcement of a “crime” invented by car companies to take control of the streets away from the people and reduce biased policing targeting Black Californians. 

We’re also excited about the OmniBike Bill (AB 1909, Friedman), which edits the California Vehicle Code to make it more bike-friendly, including requiring cars to change lanes to pass bikes when possible.

And the E-Bike Incentives Bill (AB 117, Boerner Horvath), which became a two-year bill in 2021, is headed to the governor. The program was included in last year’s budget with a $10 million allocation to give low-income Californians vouchers to help them purchase an electric bicycle. CARB is in the process of getting the program off the ground, so this bill won’t materially affect the program launch. Still, the governor’s signature will strengthen the case for making this an ongoing program like EV rebates, with an annual budget allocation. That’s particularly critical because all indications are that this will be a very popular program, and the first round of vouchers will disappear quickly.

Here are the rest of the fantastic active transportation bills awaiting the governor’s signature:

  • AB 2438 Friedman – Align transportation funding with climate goals
  • SB 457 Portantino and Wilk – Car-free tax credit
  • AB 2097 Friedman – No auto parking minimums near transit
  • SB 1079 Portantino – Sound-activated enforcement devices
  • SB 1472 Stern – Speeding and reckless driving  
  • SB 307 McGuire – Great Redwood Trail Agency authorization
  • SB 1230 Limon – Zero-emission and near-zero emission vehicle incentive programs  
  • SB 922 Wiener – CEQA exemptions for transit and active transportation infrastructure
  • AB 1919 Holden – Free student transit passes
  • AB 2264 Bloom – Pedestrian head start at crossing signals
  • SB 1107 Dodd – Protect California Drivers Act of 2022 increases liability insurance
  • AB 2863 Wilson – Bike parking standards in building codes (research)

We hope Governor Newsom signs every one of these bills into law. 

A few bills have already been signed

The governor is ahead of the game and has already signed some of the bike-friendly bills that reached his desk, two relating to bicycle education. AB 1946 (Boerner Horvath) requires CHP to develop statewide safety standards and training programs for users of e-bikes. AB 2028 (Davies) expands permitted school bicycle safety education partnerships in elementary and middle schools to include any agency or organization (not just law enforcement) at any public school. And AB 2174 (Chen) will treat bikes and scooters as vehicles for purposes of towing regulations.  

AB 371 is still a threat to shared micromobility

AB 371, a two-year bill that stalled out in 2021, has passed the legislature. We have been calling it the Kill Bike-Share Bill because it initially imposed a crippling insurance requirement on bike and scooter sharing system operators that likely would have put an end to shared micromobility in California. 

Thanks to Senator Anthony Portantino’s leadership, and intense advocacy by CalBike and our allies, bike-share has a reprieve. The author amended the bill to replace the insurance requirement for bike-share with a study of bike insurance. However, it still requires unprecedented insurance on shared scooters. That’s likely to price any shared scooter systems that survive out of the range of the people who scooter the most: residents of disadvantaged communities that are often underserved by public transit. 

CalBike continues to oppose this bill, and we’re asking Governor Newsom to veto it. The more voices he hears in opposition, the more likely we will get our veto. Please email him now.

A disappointing end for the Bicycle Safety Stop

In 2021, CalBike sponsored the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill, and we supported it when Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath reintroduced it with modifications in 2022. The safety stop allows people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields. This year’s version of the bill limited the safety stop to bike riders over ages 18 or older to address the safety concerns cited by the governor in his veto message last year. 

Unfortunately, the author withdrew AB 1713 before the Senate could vote on it, reportedly because it was headed for another veto. The author plans to introduce it again, but it’s unclear what changes would convince Governor Newsom to sign it. We may have to wait for a new governor before California can join a growing list of states and the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration in endorsing this bike-friendly traffic law. Read CalBike’s statement about the Bicycle Safety Stop.

The bills that didn’t make it — this year

The five bills that died during their legislative journeys were all terrific measures that would have improved California’s climate and made our state more liveable. Two bills by Assemblymember Laura Friedman (speed cameras and adding visionary active transportation elements to regional plans) were also shot down in 2021. 

We hope all these bills come back in future legislative sessions because they are important measures that California needs in order to transition to a more livable and less resource-intensive transportation system.

  • AB 2336, Friedman – Automated speed enforcement pilot program
  • AB 1778, C. Garcia – Prohibits any state funds or personnel from funding freeways in high-poverty or polluted areas
  • AB 1975 Nazarian – California bus shelter funding
  • AB 2237 Friedman – Regional transportation improvement plans

Thank you to everyone who sent an email or tweeted at your representatives about the active transportation slate or individual bills. A huge tide of support from the CalBike community was critical to advancing these crucial measures. With your help, we hope to convince the governor to sign many, if not all of them, into law.

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/California-flag-scaled.jpg 2560 2203 Jared Sanchez https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Jared Sanchez2022-09-06 16:39:572022-09-09 16:17:59Legislative Update: Active Transportation Wins Outnumber Losses as Bills Head to the Governor

Legislative Update: Status of Active Transportation Bills at the Midpoint

June 2, 2022/by Jared Sanchez

May 27 was the deadline for bills to move from one house of the California legislature to the other. Anything that didn’t move by that date is dead for this year, with the exception of two-year bills that made the move last year. At the midpoint, all but two of the bike- and climate-friendly bills CalBike supports have advanced. And one two-year bill we oppose remains stubbornly alive.

As these measures move ahead, we’ll need many voices speaking out for creating more space for bikes on our streets, decriminalizing safe street crossings, forward-thinking transportation planning, and much more. Look for opportunities to take action and sign our list to be the first to know about upcoming votes.



First, the bad news

The Appropriations Committees of both houses wield outsize power over the fate of legislation. Bills over a certain fiscal threshold get placed in the suspense file. If someone doesn’t want to see a bill advance, then it never makes it out of suspense. Any bills left in suspense won’t get a floor vote and won’t advance to the other branch of the legislature. 

Unfortunately, two bills that CalBike supported got killed in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. AB 1975 would have put more bus shelters on the streets, a welcome change. We hope this is just a temporary setback for a worthy idea.

And AB 2336, which was another try at a speed camera pilot, also ended up stuck in suspense, with no reason given. Speed is what kills on our streets, and speed cameras, if implemented well, could truly enforce posted speed limits. However, most Californians drive, as do most members of the Assembly, and people who drive don’t like to get speeding tickets, so this one is a tough sell. And some progressive advocates worry that speed camera programs could reinforce bias if camera surveillance focused on disadvantaged neighborhoods, leading to increased fines, which would have a disproportionate impact on low-income populations. So this worthy project is dead for another year, but we hope that legislators and advocates will find a version that everyone can live with in the near future.

Bike-share still in danger

AB 371, the Kill Bike-Share Bill, sits where it stopped last June, in the Senate Committee on Insurance. The bill imposes heavy insurance requirements on shared bike and scooter systems, and the cost would end shared micromobility in California as those systems continue to grow in popularity and usefulness. CalBike is committed to promoting bike-share and making it better[link], and we are working hard to defeat this bill.

Although this harmful legislation hasn’t moved yet in 2022, we expect action soon. It’s critical that our elected representatives understand just how unpopular it is. Please tell your senator to oppose AB 371.

Tell Your Senator to Vote NO on AB 371 to Save Bike-Share

CalBike-sponsored bills move forward

CalBike is sponsoring a bill to decriminalize safe, mid-block street crossings (formerly known as jaywalking) and one that will get California communities to build safer, more equitable streets quickly. We’re also including the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill in this category even though we aren’t officially sponsoring it this year because we strongly support that measure and are working to help it through the legislative process.

Stop Ticketing Safe Street Crossings

AB 2147 (Ting) will direct police not to ticket for safe pedestrian mid-block crossings. Ending enforcement of this offense, which was invented by car companies to reserve civic space for car dominance, will reduce opportunities for police encounters that too often become violent for people of color. It passed the Assembly and will now move through committees in the Senate. 

Tell your senator to vote YES on AB 2147 to legalize walking

Plan for the Future Bill

SB 932 (Portantino) will require cities to revise the circulation element of their general plans to include bicycle and pedestrian facilities and start implementing the changes within two years. The bill has passed the Senate and is currently in the Assembly Local Government and Transportation Committee.

Tell your assembly member to support SB 932, the Plan for the Future

Bicycle Safety Stop Bill

AB 1713 (Boerner Horvath), is a revised version of last year’s campaign to pass the Bicycle Safety Stop that will allow people on bikes who are over 18 to treat stop signs as yields. CalBike is not an official sponsor this year, but we’re strongly supporting this measure. The bill passed the Assembly and will now move through the Senate.  

Tell your senator to vote YES on the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill

Other critical active transportation bills moved forward

This is a good year for human-powered transportation bills in California. Several other bills that CalBike strongly supports are advancing. Some have jetted ahead, and others will require a huge effort to overcome entrenched opposition from automotive, freeway building, oil, and other special interests.

OmniBike Bill

AB 1909 (Friedman) will change the state vehicle code to facilitate biking across our state. Elements of this legislation include requiring vehicles to switch lanes when passing people on bikes and expanding where it’s legal to ride e-bikes. It’s hard to overstate the significance of the OmniBike Bill. If it passes into law, it will signal that California recognizes that bikes belong on our streets. This measure is already in the Senate Transportation Committee, where it’s scheduled for a vote on June 14.

Tell your senator to vote YES on the OmniBike Bill

Ending Freeway Expansion

AB 1778 (C. Garcia) will prohibit any state money from funding or permitting freeway widening projects in areas with high rates of pollution and poverty. This bill is a long shot and it barely squeaked through the Assembly, but it’s a critical measure that recognizes the environmental and societal destruction wrought by building freeways. It would be a significant step toward reversing the state’s emphasis on choking our cities with highways instead of improving public transit and creating complete streets. We will be pushing hard to get this measure to the governor’s desk, and we hope you will too.

Many more active transportation bills have momentum

Several more bills that CalBike supports are moving through the legislature, demonstrating that California legislators recognize that support for active transportation and safer streets is the logical choice. 

These bills have moved from the Assembly to the Senate:

  • Signals for Pedestrian Crossings AB 2264  (Bloom)
  • Sustainable Regional Planning AB 2237 (Friedman) 
  • Aligning Transportation Funding with Climate Goals AB 2438 (Friedman) 
  • No Auto Parking Minimums Near Transit AB 2097 (Friedman + Lee, Skinner, Wiener)
  • Free Student Transit Passes AB 1919 (Holden)
  • E-Bike Safety Training Program AB 1946 (Boerner Horvath)
  • Bike and Scooter Safety Instruction AB 2028 (Davies)
  • Advance Pedestrian Crossing Signals AB 2264 (Bloom)
  • Bike and Scooter Towing AB 2174 (Chen)
  • Driving Privilege Suspension AB 2746 (Friedman)
  • Bike Parking Guidelines AB 2863 (Wilson)

These bills have moved from the Senate to the Assembly:

  • CEQA Exemptions SB 922 (Wiener)
  • Sound-Activated Enforcement Devices SB 1079 (Portantino)
  • Speeding and Reckless Driving SB 1472 (Stern)
  • E-Bike Incentives SB 1230 (Limon)
  • Protect California Drivers Act of 2022 SB 1107 (Dodd)

Some of the bills CalBike supports will have a tougher route to passage in their second house. And, even if the legislature does the right thing, Governor Newsom has often vetoed bike-friendly legislation. See the status of all the legislation we’re watching on our 2022 Legislative Watch page and look for opportunities to take action to help grow support for a more bike-friendly California.

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/thumb-1.jpg 640 480 Jared Sanchez https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Jared Sanchez2022-06-02 16:37:332022-06-02 18:17:51Legislative Update: Status of Active Transportation Bills at the Midpoint

All the Bike-Friendly Bills Introduced in California in 2022

March 3, 2022/by Jared Sanchez

It’s that time of year again when legislators introduce hundreds of new bills that could change the law in California. As always, as your leading statewide bicycle advocate, CalBike is keeping an eye on this for you. It takes a community of dedicated bike riders to get bike-friendly bills passed (and stop the bad ones)—we couldn’t do it without your support.

Happily, there were many bills that will support safer streets and better biking introduced this year, so 2022 will provide lots of opportunities for engagement and advocacy. We’re following measures that will improve biking and all forms of active transportation, mitigate climate change, and make California more liveable. 

The bike-friendly bills list includes several pieces of legislation similar to bills introduced in 2021 coming back for a second try at becoming law, including two CalBike measures that passed the legislature, thanks to thousands of emails from CalBike members but were vetoed by the governor.

Here are the bike-friendly bills CalBike is watching.

Bicycle Safety Stop

AB 1713 (Boerner Horvath) is a reprise of last year’s campaign to pass the Bicycle Safety Stop and will allow people on bikes to treat stop signs as yields. In 2022, however, in response to the governor’s veto message on child safety, the new law will only apply to adults (age 18+). CalBike will be following this measure closely, and we’ll let you know when it’s time to ask your legislators and the governor for support.

Legalizing Safe Street Crossings

AB 2147 (Ting) is the sequel to the Freedom to Walk Act that passed the assembly and senate last year. After Governor Newsom’s veto, Assemblymember Phil Ting revamped the bill to address the governor’s concerns. The revised version will direct police not to ticket for safe pedestrian mid-block crossings (jaywalking). Ending enforcement of safe midblock crossings will reduce opportunities for police encounters that too often become violent for people of color, and CalBike will work to help pass this bill.

Sustainable Transportation Project Streamlining

SB 922 (Wiener) will help agencies install sustainable transportation infrastructure by exempting certain projects from unnecessary CEQA review. It applies to bike lanes, transit lanes and stations, HOV lanes, and related projects, as long as the projects are within existing rights-of-way and do not add automobile capacity. The bill will make permanent a temporary CEQA exemption put in place during the pandemic and add requirements for equity analysis.

Fix Deadly Roads Bill

SB 932 (Portantino) will require cities to adopt significant bicycle, pedestrian, and traffic calming elements when they develop and revise their general plans. General plans serve as blueprints for the future, prescribing policy goals and objectives to shape and guide the physical development of cities. In the past, plans in some communities have ignored the needs of bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders. As our planet warms, we can’t afford to bake unsustainable auto transportation into our city planning. CalBike strongly supports this measure.

Bikes Belong Bill

AB 1909 (Friedman) will change the state vehicle code to facilitate biking across our state. Elements of this legislation include requiring vehicles to switch lanes when passing people on bikes and expanding where it’s legal to ride e-bikes.

Signals for Pedestrian Crossings

AB 2264  (Bloom) requires Caltrans and cities to update all pedestrian control signals to give pedestrians a head start of 3 to 7 seconds. People walking will get to enter an intersection on the green light before cars get the green, which will improve visibility and, we hope, reduce crashes involving pedestrians.

Bicycle Highways

AB 2237 (Friedman) when the governor vetoed AB 1147 in 2021, he said that the critical changes to regional planning it envisioned would be better accomplished through the budget process. Yet, money to implement bicycle highways and 15-minute neighborhoods is not in the governor’s proposed budget. CalBike and our supporters continue to advocate for $2 billion for bikes, which could fund some of the connected bicycle networks in this important bill. This bill is a transformative piece of legislation, and we hope, given a second chance, the governor will sign it into law.

Ending Freeway Expansion

AB 1778 (C. Garcia) will prohibit any state money from funding or permitting freeway widening projects in areas with high rates of pollution and poverty. As decades of research have shown, low-income communities of color are most burdened by highway pollution that causes unnecessary cases of asthma and other major health issues. 

Transportation Funding and Climate Goals

AB 2438 (Friedman) requires all transportation projects funded at the local or state level to align with the California Transportation Plan and the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure adopted by the Transportation Agency. This effort will codify California’s efforts to align transportation funding with our climate goals.

The process of passing legislation is messy and complex, so things will undoubtedly change. Provisions may get added or removed from some bills that change CalBike’s position. We will work to strengthen and support these bike-friendly measures, and we’ll keep you up to date as the session progresses. See the status of all the legislation we’re watching on our 2022 Legislative Watch page.

https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/California_State_Capitol_in_Sacramento.jpg 1000 1500 Jared Sanchez https://www.calbike.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/calbike-logo.png Jared Sanchez2022-03-03 18:13:582022-06-02 12:15:28All the Bike-Friendly Bills Introduced in California in 2022

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