Today we're excited to share a guest news story from SafeTREC's Kristen Leckie, Program & Policy Analyst. This post was originally published on February 27, 2023.
With the start of the new year, California saw a number of active transportation bills go into effect. You can find out what bills are now live below!
AB 1297 California Climate Crisis Act
Authored by Assemblymembers Al Muratsuchi and Cristina Garcia, the AB 1297 bill requires the State to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2045. It also requires the State to achieve and maintain net negative greenhouse gas emissions thereafter to below 85 percent of the 1990 levels of emissions.
AB 1909 Bicycle Omnibus Bill
Authored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman, the AB 1909 bill provides three major updates to the operation of bikes:
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Prohibits the mandatory registration of bikes;
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Allows bikes to cross an intersection with a pedestrian “walk” signal;
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Prevents cities from prohibiting e-bikes in bike lanes; and
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Requires cars passing bikes to change lanes whenever possible, when previously they only needed to provide 3 feet of space when passing.
AB 1938 Speed limits
Authored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman, the AB 1938 bill provides cities more control over speed limits by allowing the rounding down of speed limits by 5 miles per hour from the nearest 5 miles per hour of the 85th percentile.
AB 1946 Electric bicycles: safety and training program
Authored by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath, the AB 1946 bill requires the California Highway Patrol to develop statewide safety and training programs based on evidence-based practices for users of electric bicycles.
AB 1981 Public transportation reimbursement for jurors
Authored by Assemblymember Alex Lee, the AB 1981 bill requires jurors to be reimbursed for the cost of taking public transportation to court. The bill also creates a pilot study to determine if increased compensation for jurors will increase juror participation and diversity.
AB 2097 Parking minimum requirements
Authored by Assemblymember Laura Friedman, the AB 2097 bill prohibits a parking minimum requirement for any residential, commercial, or other development project within 1/2 mile of public transit.
AB 2147 Safe Street Crossings (“Freedom to Walk Act”)
Authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting, the AB 2147 bill prevents police officers from ticketing pedestrians crossing the street outside of a painted crosswalk as long as there is no immediate danger of collision with a car, bicyclist, or other road user. The approved bill does not fully decriminalize jaywalking as originally proposed, but it does make an advancement towards full decriminalization.
AB 2206 Parking cash-out program
Authored by Assemblymember Alex Lee, the AB 2206 bill requires employers who provide free parking to provide a similar subsidy to employees who do not drive to work.
AB 2264 Pedestrian Head Start Signals
Authored by Assemblymember Richard Bloom, the AB 2264 bill requires all new or replaced traffic signals to have a leading pedestrian interval, or head start, of 3 to 7 seconds. For existing traffic signals capable of being reprogrammed, the bill also requires the leading pedestrian interval to be activated when maintenance work is done.
SB 922 CEQA Exemptions for Bike, Pedestrian, and Transit Projects
Authored by Senator Scott Weiner, the SB 922 bill extends the current California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemptions to include all bike, pedestrian, and transit projects, so long as they do not include increased capacity for vehicles.
SB 932 Bicycle and pedestrian plans and traffic calming plans
Authored by Senator Anthony Portantino, the SB 932 bill makes the adoption of the Safe System Approach mandatory for all City and County general plans, specifically in their bicycle, pedestrian, and traffic calming plans.
SB 942 Free or reduced fare transit program
Authored by Senator Josh Newman, the SB 942 bill eliminates a previous requirement that all reduced or free fare transit programs prove that the continuance of the program will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This opens up the number of transit agencies now able to apply for funding to provide reduced or free transit programs.
Explore California Legislation
To learn more about current legislation influencing the safety for people walking, biking, and rolling in California, visit our legislation inventory page, which is continuously updated as new legislation is passed.
If you are aware of California legislation that needs to be updated or is not present on our page, please reach out by sending an e-mail to safetrec@berkeley.edu.