Past State Legislation

AB 902 Traffic violations: diversion programs

This bill was signed into law on September 21, 2015. It will enable bicyclists ticketed for moving violations to participate in bicycle education classes and have their fines reduced. This is also a priority of the Roadway Safety Solutions Team. We believe ticketed bicyclists should be allowed to attend diversion programs, or “bicycle traffic school” classes to encourage safe behavior and improve road safety.

SB 595 Metropolitan Transportation Commission: toll bridge revenues

The bill was approved Oct. 2017. It required the nine counties in the San Francisco Bay area to conduct a special election on an increased in the amount of toll rate charged on the state-owned toll bridges in that area to be used for unspecified projects and programs.

AB 1103 Bicycles: yielding

This bill would authorize a person biking to treat a stop sign like a yield sign, giving right of way to other traffic at an intersection before proceeding safely through, but without the requirement to come to a full stop. This bill was not passed.

AB 342 Vehicles: automated speed enforcement: five-year pilot program

The Safe Streets Act of 2017 would create a pilot speed safety camera program in San Jose and San Francisco, which would contribute to Vision Zero goals. This bill was not passed.

AB 40 Toll bridges: pedestrians and bicycles

This bill was signed into law on October 7, 2015. It prohibits tolls for walking and bicycling on state-owned bridges, including the Golden Gate Bridge, in order to not deter people from taking trips by bike or foot.

AB 1096 Vehicles: electric bicycles

This bill was signed into law on October 7, 2015. It will clarify the definition of electric bicycles (e-bikes) and make bicycling accessible to more people. Electric assistance bikes enable people to ride who otherwise couldn’t or wouldn’t: senior citizens, parents with young children, and those who ride up steep hills or across long distances. This bill identifies three specific classes of e-bike based on top speed.

AB 8 Vehicles: electric bicycles

This bill was signed into law on September 28, 2015. It allows law enforcement to issue a Yellow Alert, similar to an Amber Alert, when a person has been killed or severely injured by a hit-and-run and there is information related to the vehicle. These alerts will be limited to the geographic area of the collision.

AB 1193 Emergency services: hit-and-run incidents

This bill was passed into law on September 20, 2014. AB 1193 amends Section 890.4 and 890.6 of the Streets & Highways Code to create a new class of bikeway – Class IV: cycle tracks or protected bikeways – and requires Caltrans to develop minimum safety standards for all bikeways by January 1, 2016. It also permits cities and counties to use the best available guidance for bikeways on local streets and roads, if adopted by resolution at a public meeting, by removing the requirement in Section 891 to conform to the outdated guidelines in Caltrans Highway Design Manual. It also removes the requirement for cities to undergo the complex design exception process with Caltrans when using designs outside of the state’s standards.

AB 2398 Vulnerable Roadway Users

This bill was vetoed by Governor Brown on September 30, 2014. It would have increased penalties for drivers who hit or injure people who bike, walk, run, skateboard, ride horses, or work on California streets by raising the fine for hitting a Vulnerable Road User and assigning a point on the motorist’s driver’s license.

AB 1532 Hit and run bill

This bill was vetoed by Governor Brown on September 30, 2014. Currently, drivers are only punished when a hit-and-run results in death, serious injury or property damage but not when it results in less serious injuries. This bill would have closed this loophole with a 6-month license suspension following a hit-and-run that involves injuries and clearly sent the message that if you a hit a person with your vehicle, then you must stop and if you don’t, you will lose your license.

AB 47 Yellow Alert

This bill was vetoed by Governor Brown on September 30, 2014. It would have created a “Yellow Alert” to notify the public when a hit and run resulting in a death or serious bodily injury has occurred and provide information about the vehicle or suspect involved, increasing the chance that the motorist who demonstrates reckless disregard for human life will be brought to justice.

AB 1371 Vehicles: bicycles: passing distance

This bill was passed into law on September 23, 2013 and went into effect on September 16, 2014. It requires motorists to give bicyclists at least 3 feet of clearance when passing from behind. A violation will result in fines.