Now that the deadline for submitting bills for the current California legislative session has passed, it's possible to get somewhat of an idea what lawmakers are working on. The next couple of posts will take a quick look at some of the ones that stand out (and may be most likely to pass, in one form or another).
Note that it's very early in the process, and these bills have not yet had any public hearings. They are very likely to be amended at least somewhat as people weigh in. If you have strong opinions about any of these issues, it's worth sending comments to the authors, or commenting at the public hearings. Information about how to do so can be found at the Senate and Assembly websites.
Several of these bills are second tries that for whatever reason did not pass in an earlier session, and they could all benefit from public support.
Four other states have adopted some version of a "stop-as-yield" law: Arkansas, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. Colorado adopted an "opt-in" version, and is currently working on making it a statewide standard. Virginia, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Utah are all somewhere in the process of exploring it - the Virginia legislature just defeated a bill to allow it, but has called for study on the issue.
It's intuitive for many people on bikes, but sometimes it can take some explanation to get drivers to understand why bike riders behave this way, and why it can be safer for them to do so.
E-bike Rebates
Assemblymember Boerner Horvath is also the author of A.B. 117, which would create a statewide program to offer rebates for people who buy e-bikes. As currently written, it would use $10 million from cap-and-trade (the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund) for the Electric Bicycle Rebate Pilot Project under the Clean Vehicle Rebate program at the Air Resources Board.
As part of the Clean Vehicle Rebate program, it would face scrutiny to make sure the money goes to people who need it, which is appropriate. While $10 million may seem like a lot, California has spent a lot more than that helping people buy electric cars, including Teslas. E-bikes have the potential to be much more transformative than a car, both to people's lives as well as for the environment - and traffic congestion.
One man's e-bike experience. Graphic by Gary Fujioka, Sr.
Safe Streets
During the pandemic, some California cities have been closing streets to through traffic in an attempt to create open space for people to spend time in. A.B. 773, from Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, would allow local authorities to make those changes permanent. The bill defines potential "slow streets" as local, neighborhood streets that connect to bicycle networks and green space. The idea would be to prioritize them in neighborhoods with the lowest access to parks and highest air pollution burdens. Oakland's experience might be a good one to learn from.
Next: Bills on transit, housing, environmental justice, and wonky planning stuff.
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Streetsblog California editor Melanie Curry has been thinking about transportation, and how to improve conditions for bicyclists, since her early days commuting by bike to UCLA long ago. She was Managing Editor at the East Bay Express, and edited Access Magazine for the University of California Transportation Center. She also earned her Masters in City Planning from UC Berkeley.
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