State Legislative Roundup

By SVBC Policy Manager Emma ShlaesYou may remember back in April, when I went to Sacramento to speak to our Assembly members and State Senators about important bills that would improve the bicycling experience in California. That day, SVBC joined advocates from around the state, and California Bicycle Coalition, to speak with lawmakers about several bills and increasing the amount of funding for the Active Transportation Program. While the budget is still being hashed out with the extraordinary session and Governor Jerry Brown, we can report on the progress of the bills.

• Assembly Bill 902, Bicycle Diversion Programs: This bill will enable bicyclists ticketed for moving violations to participate in bicycle education classes and have their fines reduced. This is a priority of the Roadway Safety Solutions Team. Passed and signed on September 21.
• Assembly Bill 8, Emergency services: hit-and-run incidents: This bill 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.Passed and signed on September 28.
• 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.On Governor's desk.
• Assembly Bill 1096, Electric Bicycle Classification: This bill would clarify the definition of electric bicycles (e-bikes) and make bicycling accessible to more people. On Governor's desk.

The two bills that have been signed are great news for people biking! First, the bike diversion program will allow people who are given a ticket while biking the same opportunity that people who are ticketed while driving get: traffic school! Enforcement of the law is important for all road users. However, it will have a greater benefit to give people who are ticketed on a bicycle the opportunity to learn about safe bicycling practices than it is to give them a costly fine, often equal to the fine for a much more serious moving violation in a motor vehicle. Many people ride a bicycle as their primary mode of transportation because they have no other option and have not had the benefit of formal training on how to safely ride on the road. Santa Clara County and Stanford University already run successful youth diversion programs. SVBC hopes to work with local law enforcement and the Roadway Safety Solutions Team to get further bicycle diversion programs in our two counties.The “Yellow Alert” system will allow descriptive information about a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run to reach the public quickly, increasing the chances that these individuals, who demonstrate reckless disregard for human life, will be identified and brought to justice. Often, eyewitnesses to hit-and-runs are able to provide significant information about the make, model, and license plate number of the fleeing vehicle. However nationwide, less than half of all hit-and-run offenders are apprehended. By elevating hit-and-runs to the alert system it also sends a message that this is not acceptable roadway behavior and will be punished accordingly.We'll update you soon on the status of the last two bills. Thanks for all your letters and calls in support of these initiatives.