(1) Existing law authorizes the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper class of license for the type of vehicle operated if specified requirements are satisfied. Existing law prohibits the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads until the manufacturer submits an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles (department) , as specified, and that application is approved. Existing law requires the department to adopt regulations setting forth requirements for the submission and approval of an application, including, among other things, any testing, equipment, and performance standards the department concludes are necessary to ensure the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads, as specified. Existing law requires manufacturers of autonomous vehicles that operate without a human operator physically present in the vehicle, except as provided, to comply with certain requirements, including, among other things, to maintain a dedicated emergency response telephone line that is available for emergency response officials and to equip each autonomous vehicle with a 2-way voice communication device that enables emergency response officials who are near the vehicle to communicate effectively with a remote human operator, as specified. Under existing law, an "emergency response official" includes, but is not limited to, emergency dispatchers, peace officers, as specified, and first responders. This bill would require manufacturers of autonomous vehicles to maintain communications capacity sufficient to support the maximum number of concurrent remote assistance or teleoperations sessions, as specified. The bill would require remote drivers to be located within the United States and hold a driver's license that is valid for operation in California, is of the appropriate class, and includes any required endorsements. The bill would require an autonomous vehicle manufacturer to ensure, through its staffing and assignments, that local incident technicians are immediately dispatched upon notification, electronically or otherwise, of a crash or other incident or upon receiving a request from an emergency response official or 911 dispatch center. The bill would, in the event of a fleetwide emergency or system failure that may create a traffic hazard or impeded emergency response, require an autonomous vehicle manufacturer to immediately notify affected local jurisdictions, including emergency dispatch, of the location and status of their fleet and deploy local incident technicians, where appropriate, whenever affected vehicles cannot be remotely recovered. The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2028, to adopt guidelines establishing reasonable response times for local incident technicians to be present at the scene upon the request of an emergency response official or 911 dispatch center. The bill would expand the definition of "emergency response official" for these purposes to also include traffic control, traffic enforcement, and parking enforcement personnel from a public agency in an applicable jurisdiction. The bill would require autonomous vehicle manufacturers, for an autonomous vehicle that operates as a commercial vehicle and that is not equipped with manual controls for completing the dynamic driving task, to ensure that remote assistants or remote drivers have the ability to place the autonomous vehicle in neutral to allow an emergency response official to move the vehicle, cause the autonomous vehicle to move as directed by an emergency response official, or turn off the vehicle and have it remain stationary until otherwise directed by an emergency response official. The bill would require autonomous vehicle manufacturers to maintain data on response times of local incident technicians and responses to fleetwide emergencies or system failures, emergency events, immobilizations, obstructions, crashes, and requests from emergency response officials. The bill would require autonomous vehicle manufacturers to provide this data to the department quarterly and would require the department to publish summary statistics on its internet website, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to share records with the Public Utilities Commission to support regulatory oversight of autonomous vehicle passenger service operations. The bill would specify that a violation of the above provisions is not a crime. The bill would authorize a city attorney or county counsel to bring a civil action on behalf of a city, county, or city and county to enforce specified violations of the above provisions. The bill would authorize a court to impose specified civil penalties payable to the jurisdiction bringing the action, as specified. (2) Existing law establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) within the Department of Justice and requires the commission to develop guidelines and implement courses of instruction regarding specified topics, including, among others, racial profiling, handling domestic violence, and human trafficking. This bill would require POST to develop uniform guidelines and requirements for, and to provide approval of, the training and written guidance required to be provided by autonomous vehicle manufacturers. The bill would authorize POST to impose fees sufficient to cover the reasonable regulatory costs associated with administering these provisions. The bill would require POST to implement a course or courses of instruction for voluntary training of law enforcement officers, as defined, on autonomous vehicles that operate as commercial vehicles as it relates to public safety and to develop related uniform minimum guidelines for voluntary use by California law enforcement agencies, as specified. The bill would require the course or courses, learning and performance objectives, training standards, and guidelines to be developed in consultation with appropriate groups and individuals that have an interest and expertise in the field of the operation of autonomous vehicles, as specified. (3) The bill would make its provisions operative July 1, 2028.
Existing law authorizes the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper class of license for the type of vehicle operated if specified requirements are satisfied. Existing law prohibits the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads until the manufacturer submits an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles, as specified, and that application is approved. Existing law requires the department to adopt regulations setting forth requirements for the submission and approval of an application, including, among other things, any testing, equipment, and performance standards the department concludes are necessary to ensure the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads, as specified. Existing law authorizes a peace officer, as defined, to issue a notice of autonomous vehicle noncompliance upon observing an alleged violation of the Vehicle Code or upon observing an alleged violation of a local traffic ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code by an autonomous vehicle while the autonomous technology is engaged. This bill would require a citation for a traffic violation by a level 4 or 5 autonomous vehicle to be issued to the manufacturer of the autonomous technology if a traffic violation was committed while either the vehicle did not have a person in the driver's seat or the vehicle had a person in the driver's seat and the autonomous technology was engaged. The bill would authorize those citations to be issued by first-class mail. The bill would require a citation to be issued to the driver of an autonomous vehicle of any level if a traffic violation was committed while there was a person in the driver's seat and the autonomous technology was not engaged. The bill would require a citation to be issued to the driver of a level 3 autonomous vehicle if a traffic violation was committed while there was a person in the driver's seat and the autonomous technology was engaged. The bill would authorize the driver to, as a defense, raise that the autonomous technology was responsible for the traffic violation. The bill would require the citation to be issued to the manufacturer of the autonomous technology if the court determines that a level 3 autonomous vehicle was the cause of the traffic violation. The bill would authorize the holder of the testing permit or deployment permit to contest a citation or penalty.
Existing law authorizes the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper class of license for the type of vehicle operated if specified requirements are satisfied. Existing law prohibits the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads until the manufacturer submits an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles, as specified, and that application is approved. For these purposes, existing law defines "autonomous vehicle." This bill would require the manufacturer of an advanced driver assistance system, or an automobile equipped with an advanced driver assistance system, to ensure a driver is able to disable or disengage either an advanced driver assistance system or autonomous technology as a condition of operating the vehicle under a condition in which manual operation was previously available. The bill would define "advanced driver assistance system" for these purposes. The bill would authorize the Attorney General, a district attorney, or a city attorney to bring a civil action to enforce those prohibitions and would authorize a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 per violation, as specified. The bill would specify that a violation of those prohibitions is not an unlawful business practice. The bill would also make technical and conforming changes. Existing law requires the department, upon application for an original driver's license, to require an examination of the applicant. Existing law requires the examination to test, among other things, the applicant's knowledge and understanding of the provisions of the Vehicle Code governing the operation of vehicles upon the highways, an actual demonstration of the applicant's ability to exercise ordinary and reasonable control in operating a motor vehicle by driving it under the supervision of an examining officer, and a test of the applicant's hearing and eyesight, as specified. This bill would require the department, at the next regularly scheduled revision of the driver's license examination or demonstration of an applicant's ability to drive, to consider adding one or more questions that pertain to levels of advanced driver assistance systems.
Existing law makes it unlawful for a person who has 0.08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in their blood to drive a vehicle or to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs and prescribes certain penalties depending on additional facts, such as whether the driving resulted in an injury to another. Existing decisional law holds that the slight volitional movement of the vehicle is sufficient for a driving under the influence violation. This bill would state that for the purposes of a driving under the influence violation, "drive" includes the volitional movement of a vehicle with driver support features engaged that require a person to supervise the vehicle in order to steer, brake, or accelerate, as needed to maintain safety. To the extent that this bill would expand the scope of a crime, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The Secretary of State is the chief elections officer of the state, and the Attorney General is the chief law officer of the state. Existing law requires a state or local agency that files or is served with an elections-related claim arising under federal law to provide written notice to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General within 3 court days. Existing law requires a state or local agency that intends to enter into a settlement, consent decree, or other court-approved agreement related to the claim to provide a draft copy of the settlement, consent decree, or agreement to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General at least 14 court days before entering into it. This bill would require a local agency, political subdivision, or elections official to provide notice to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General immediately, but no later than one calendar day, after becoming aware of any warrant, subpoena, or active law enforcement investigation pertaining to any election records or certified voting technology under their custody or control. The bill would authorize the Secretary of State or the Attorney General to intervene in, or initiate, any court proceedings to challenge a warrant or subpoena on any valid grounds or seek any other appropriate relief. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2030. By increasing the duties of local elections officials, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law regulates vehicles, including autonomous vehicles and autonomous technology in vehicles. Under existing federal statute and regulation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued the Third Amended Standing General Order 2021-01, effective June 16, 2025, that requires specified vehicle and equipment manufacturers and operators of autonomous driving systems and Level 2 advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) vehicles to report crashes to NHTSA, as specified. A violation of the Vehicle Code is an infraction. This bill would require a manufacturer of a Level 2 ADAS vehicle to report a crash involving its Level 2 ADAS vehicle to the Department of Motor Vehicles, including reporting the crash, as defined, within 5 days of the crash, as specified, if specified conditions pertaining to the crash are met. The bill would require the department to post this crash data on its internet website, as specified, and to transmit this data to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, as specified. The bill would prohibit the department from publishing any proprietary business information, including any personally identifiable information, when posting crash data on its internet website and would make this information confidential and not subject to disclosure under certain public records provisions. The bill would impose a civil penalty of $27,874 per violation per day on a manufacturer that fails to report a crash pursuant to these provisions. The bill would be operative only if the Third Amended Standing General Order 2021-01 is repealed and not replaced with another general order, a federal statute, or a federal regulation that is consistent with the repealed General Order, as determined by the Director of Motor Vehicles. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. By expanding the application of a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Existing law authorizes the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper class of license for the type of vehicle operated if specified requirements are satisfied. Existing law prohibits the operation of an autonomous vehicle on public roads until the manufacturer submits an application to the Department of Motor Vehicles, as specified, and that application is approved. Existing law requires the department to adopt regulations setting forth requirements for the submission and approval of an application, including, among other things, any testing, equipment, and performance standards the department concludes are necessary to ensure the safe operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads, as specified. This bill would, commencing January 1, 2026, authorize an autonomous vehicle to be equipped with automated driving system (ADS) marker lamps in accordance with specified standards. For purposes of this provision, the bill would define an "ADS marker lamp" as a device that emits a light to indicate when an ADS is engaged in the operation of the vehicle. The bill would also make conforming changes.
Existing law requires the Chair of the California Transportation Commission to create a Road Usage Charge Technical Advisory Committee in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation to guide the development and evaluation of a pilot program assessing the potential for mileage-based revenue collection as an alternative to the gas tax system. Existing law additionally requires the Transportation Agency, in consultation with the commission, to implement the pilot program, as specified. Existing law repeals these provisions on January 1, 2027. This bill would require the commission, in consultation with the Transportation Agency, to consolidate and prepare research and recommendations related to a road user charge or a mileage-based fee system. The bill would require the commission to submit a report, as specified, on the research and recommendations described above to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by no later than January 1, 2027. The bill would require the commission to consult with appropriate state agencies and other stakeholders, as specified, in preparing the research and recommendations and report described above.
Under existing law, the Legislature encourages school administrations to (1) offer wellness programs that include personalized instruction about healthy eating and physical activity and (2) ensure that the nutrition services, health services, and social services pupils need in order to learn are provided at the schoolsite or in cooperation with other community agencies. This bill would state that the Legislature encourages school administrations, if the school maintains an internet website, to post on the school's internet website information about community programs that offer nutrition assistance to families.
Existing law, the State Aeronautics Act, governs various matters relative to aviation in the state, and authorizes the Department of Transportation to adopt, administer, and enforce rules and regulations for the administration of the act. This bill, the Advanced Air Mobility Infrastructure Act, would require the department, in coordination with specified agencies, to include advanced air mobility, as defined, in the next update to the California Transportation Plan prepared after January 1, 2027, and to establish a statewide working group to facilitate ongoing collaboration to explore California's role as a leader in the development and implementation of advanced air mobility, as specified. The bill would prohibit its provisions from being construed to (1) interfere with or suspend the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration or any other federal department or agency, or state zoning laws or regulations, as specified, or (2) limit or interfere with the jurisdiction, authority, rights, or responsibilities of any airport sponsor or operator, as specified.
