State legislation update
[gallery ids="7301,7300,7299"]Last week was California Bike Advocacy Day and I joined advocates from around the state to meet with your state assemblymembers and senators in Sacramento.We started the trip by getting briefed by California Bicycle Coalition on the important asks:
- Increase the Active Transportation Program by $100 million: Last year was the first year California combined several funding programs to create the Active Transportation Program (ATP) for biking and walking projects. The state received over 800 applications and was able to fund fewer than 200. The current budget of $120 million isn't sufficient to meet the demand cities have for biking and walking projects.
- Assembly Bill 902, Bicycle Diversion Programs: This bill will enable bicyclists ticketed for moving violations to participate in free bicycle education classes and have their fines reduced. This is a priority of the Roadway Safety Solutions Team.
- Assembly Bill 40, Prohibit Bridge Tolling of Bicyclists and Pedestrians: This bill 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.
- Assembly Bill 1096, Electric Bicycle Classification: This bill would clarify the definition of electric bicycles (e-bikes) and make bicycling accessible to more people.
I was able to meet with staff for the following legislators, most of whom were strongly in support of the proposed bills. A big thanks to their offices for taking the time to meet with us:
- Senator Jerry Hill
- Senator Bob Wiecowski
- Assemblymember Kevin Mullin
- Assemblymember Kansen Chu
- Assemblymember Evan Low
- Assemblymember Nora Campos
CalBike also hosted an e-bike demo where I had the chance to ride an e-bike for the first time (see pictures). It was a fun ride! We'll keep you posted on our Legislation and Policies page as bills develop.
