Legislative Update: Summer Recess Edition
With the legislature set to meet again next week, now is as good a time as any to look at the status of legislation of greatest interest to Streetsblog readers.
We’re changing the format a little bit first noting the legislation that’s still moving, then the legislation that has been signed into law, before ending with the legislation that’s been defeated.
Still Moving
Assembly Bill 1421, Vehicles: Road Usage Charge Technical Advisory Committee, directs the California Transportation Commission to continue and deepen a study into whether a road usage charge could eventually serve as an alternative to the state’s traditional gas tax. 1421 passed the Assembly and was assigned to the Rules Committee in the Senate.
This is the legislation that created a stir with right-wing influencers who told followers either that it would replace the gas tax with a vehicle miles traveled fee, that it was already passed and would do so, or would add a VMT fee to the existing gas tax. In both article and short video, Streetsblog explained how none of that was true.
Assembly Bill 1546, Driving under the influence, would increase penalties for repeat DUI offenders to bring California law more in line with other states.
It cleared the Assembly and policy committees in the Senate and is awaiting a hearing with the Appropriations Committee.
Assembly Bill 1599: Public transit: California Transit Stop Registry: transit datasets, would create a statewide unique identifier for every transit stop. Streetsblog discussed this legislation in episode 14.1 of StreetSmart.
It cleared the Assembly and policy committees in the Senate and is awaiting a hearing with the Appropriations Committee.
Assembly Bill 1662, Driving record: points: misdemeanor diversion, would change existing law so that drivers who avoid fines through a court-mandated misdemeanor diversion program would still receive points on their driving record. Streetsblog covered the introduction of this legislation as part of a package of bills intended to reduce the number of DUI deaths.
It cleared the Assembly and policy committees in the Senate, but was placed “on suspense” in the Appropriations Committee so it may not be moving this year.
Assembly Bill 1740, Coastal resources: coastal development permits: urban multimodal communities: bicycle facilities, has been heavily amended since it was first introduced to now provide a specific timeline for Santa Monica to receive certification of its Coastal Plan from the Coastal Commission. Streetsblog covered this legislation when it was introduced and after it was amended.
It cleared the Assembly and policy committees in the Senate and is awaiting a hearing with the Appropriations Committee. Given that Santa Monica and the Coastal Commission seem to be working together, this legislation may not move any further.
Assembly Bill 1837, Video imaging of parking violations, would make transit lane and bus stop camera enforcement permanent statewide.
This legislation passed the Assembly and has moved through the Senate Transportation Committee. It awaits a hearing with the Senate Committee on Privacy, Digital Technology, and Consumer Protection.
Assembly Bill 1976, Streets and highways: pedestrian and bicycle facilities, is a wide-ranging California Assembly bill aimed at streamlining the planning, construction, and protection of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure across the state.
Streetsblog wrote about this legislation as it was moving in the Assembly. It has since passed the Assembly and policy committees in the Senate, but was placed “on suspense” in the Appropriations Committee so it may not be moving this year.
Assembly Bill 2015, Navigation programs: slow streets, would help cities “keep slow streets slow” by stopping navigation apps from routing cut-through traffic onto neighborhood streets designed for local access, walking, and biking.
It cleared the Assembly and policy committees in the Senate and is awaiting a hearing with the Appropriations Committee.
Assembly Bill 2168, Active Transportation Program: guidelines, would include transit-rich and infill opportunity areas as a program priority, prioritize the leveraging of more state transportation funding to the ATP, and mandate the implementation of penalties for applicants who do not use previously allocated program funds promptly.
It cleared the Assembly and policy committees in the Senate and is awaiting a hearing with the Appropriations Committee.
Senate Bill 569, Bikeways: reversions and modifications, would make it significantly harder for local governments to remove or weaken existing bicycle infrastructure. The bill prohibits cities, counties, regional agencies, and other local governments from removing a Class I, II, III, or IV bikeway—or reducing the physical protection of a bikeway—unless they replace it with infrastructure that provides equal or greater levels of safety and connectivity.
The bill is a priority for Calbike, and has passed the Senate and Assembly Transportation Committee.
Senate Bill 677, Housing development: transit-oriented development, aims to strengthen California’s transit-oriented housing laws by closing loopholes used by cities to evade development requirements. The bill expands definitions to include high-frequency ferry service and reinforces mandates for building housing near major transit stops.
This legislation is related to Senate Bill 79 that was extensively covered last year. Streetsblog covered SB 677 in an article about Los Angeles Metro’s attempts to avoid enforcing SB 79.
The legislation has cleared the Senate and Assembly Policy Committees and is awaiting a hearing with the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Senate Bill 1167, Vehicles: Electric Bicycles, seeks to define the differences between e-bikes and e-motorcycles (e-motos). It just passed the Senate Transportation Committee earlier today. It still needs a vote at the Natural Resources Committees. Streetsblog discussed this legislation in episode 14.1 of StreetSmart and when it passed the full Senate.
The legislation has cleared the Senate and Assembly Policy Committees and is awaiting a hearing with the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Senate Bill 1423, Transportation funding: State Transportation Improvement Program: Active Transportation Program would steer half of STIP funds toward projects that make streets safer for people walking, biking, and taking transit, while also making the state’s top safe streets grant program easier for cities to access.
The legislation has cleared the Senate and Assembly Policy Committees and is awaiting a hearing with the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Senate Bill 1292, County community schools and juvenile court schools: administration and operation, gives cities stronger curb management tools to enforce parking violations in loading zones, bike lanes, and crosswalks.
The legislation is still alive after passing the Senate, but has had a couple of hearings cancelled in the Assembly casting doubt on its prospects of moving again.
Signed Into Law
No legislation Streetsblog is currently tracking has been signed into law.
Defeated
Assembly Bill 1557, Vehicles: Electric Bicycles, would limit the motor output of e-bikes sold in the state to a maximum of 750 watts, aligning with existing federal e-bike definitions. Streetsblog covered the introduction of this legislation. The legislation did not clear the Assembly.
Assembly Bill 1833, Consumer Driving Data Protection Act of 2026, would have allowed drivers to voluntarily opt into insurance telematics with privacy protections. This legislation did not pass the Assembly.
Assembly Bill 1942, the E-Bike Accountability Act, would have required owners of Class 2 and Class 3 electric bicycles to register those bikes with the California Department of Motor Vehicles and display a special license plate issued by the DMV.
Streetsblog covered this legislation twice, both when it was introduced and the backlash from advocacy groups. This legislation did not pass the Assembly.
Assembly Bill 2276, The Stop Super Speeders Act, would create a statewide pilot program requiring reckless and excessive speed offenders to install active intelligent speed assistance (ISA) devices in their vehicles as a condition of regaining driving privileges. Streetsblog covered this legislation when it was introduced.
This legislation did not pass the Assembly, much to the consternation of safety advocates.
Assembly Bill 2284, Electric bicycles: Attorney General list, would require CHP to publish a list of devices marketed as e-bikes that are not actually legal e-bikes. The legislation was assigned to the Transportation Committee.
This legislation did not pass the Assembly and never even received a committee vote.
Senate Bill 1035, Motor vehicle fuel tax: greenhouse gas reduction programs: suspension, would suspend the state gas tax and other fuel charges for one year. Streetsblog covered this legislation when it was introduced and critiqued it in a short video.
This legislation was defeated in committee and never received a floor vote.
Senate Bill 1411, Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: funding conditions: high-speed rail, would lift restrictions limiting high-speed rail spending to the Merced–Bakersfield segment. That could accelerate work in Southern California or toward the Bay Area. Streetsblog discussed this legislation in episode 14.2 of StreetSmart.
This legislation did not pass the Assembly
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