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Legislation 2010

last updated 10/1/10

The 2010 legislative session ended at midnight on Aug. 31, 2010. Below is a summary of bicycling-related legislation introduced during this session and the status of each bill.

Signed into law

The following bills were approved by the Legislature and signed into law by the governor.

SB 1318 (Senate Transportation & Housing Committee), Omnibus transportation bill

Summary: This bill makes a number of minor technical changes to clarify existing state law. One of those changes clarifies the California Vehicle Code provision on passing as it relates to bicycling. Specifically, the bill states that CVC Sec. 21755, which authorizes passing on the right under certain conditions, does not prohibit bicyclists from riding in a bike lane or on the shoulder of the road.

CBC's position: SUPPORT

Current CVC provisions specify when and how to pass on the left and right but do not account for other provisions that determine a bicyclist's lane position. This bill seeks to resolve the resulting confusion about whether bicyclists riding in a bike lane or on the shoulder of the road must pass on the left or right.

Read the bill's full text, current status, committee and floor analyses, and votes to date.

AB 584 (Huber), Neighborhood electric vehicles

Summary: This bill authorizes Amador County and the cities of Jackson, Sutter Creek and Amador City to adopt, jointly or individually, a plan for the operation of neighborhood electric vehicles, subject to a review and recommendations by the California Traffic Control Devices Committee and Caltrans on any portions involving the state highway system.

CBC's position: OPPOSE

Neighborhood electric vehicles help reduce reliance on petroleum-based fuels, improve air quality, and facilitate suburban mobility. Because of their size, mass and speed, NEVs are appropriately operated in mixed traffic lanes, alongside other motor vehicles.

Like other local NEV plans submitted to the Legislature pursuant to AB 2353 (Chap. 422 of 2004), this bill jeopardizes the safety of bicyclists by allowing for the adoption of local NEV plans that could force NEVs and bicycles to share a single, separated lane. CBC supports adoption of a single statewide standard for the operation of NEVs that prohibits separate, shared NEV-bike facilities.

AB 1781 (Villines), Neighborhood electric vehicles

Summary: This bill authorizes the City of Fresno to adopt a plan for the operation of neighborhood electric vehicles, subject to a review and recommendations by the California Traffic Control Devices Committee and Caltrans on any portions involving the state highway system.

CBC's position: OPPOSE

Neighborhood electric vehicles help reduce reliance on petroleum-based fuels, improve air quality, and facilitate suburban mobility. Because of their size, mass and speed, NEVs are appropriately operated in mixed traffic lanes, alongside other motor vehicles.

Like other local NEV plans submitted to the Legislature pursuant to AB 2353 (Chap. 422 of 2004), this bill jeopardizes the safety of bicyclists by allowing for the adoption of a local NEV plan that could force NEVs and bicycles to share a single, separated lane. CBC supports adoption of a single statewide standard for the operation of NEVs that prohibits separate, shared NEV-bike facilities.

AB 2294 (Block), Authorization to regulate pedicabs

Summary: This bill adds a definition of a "pedicab" to state law and authorizes cities and counties to adopt ordinances to regulate pedicabs that may include a requirement for operators to have a valid California driver's license, carry a valid California identification card, proof of successful completion of the written portion of the driver's license examination, and/or proof of completion of a bicycle training course. Originally intended to apply only to San Diego County, where a pedicab passenger died in a fall, the bill was amended this summer to apply statewide.

CBC's position: WATCH

Regulating pedicab operations is appropriate, however, because the California driver's manual and driver's license test are intended for motorists, CBC and other bicycle advocacy organizations have lobbied to give local agencies the option to require proof of completion of bike safety training approved by the League of American Bicyclists or an equivalent organization. This would ensure that pedicab operators receive training more closely related to the operation of a pedicab.

AB 2756 (Block), Mobile billboards

Summary: This bill adds a statutory definition of "mobile billboard advertising displays" pulled by bicycles or other nonmotorized vehicles and authorizes cities and counties to regulate them.

CBC's position: WATCH

This bill offers reasonable limits on the use of bicycles for commercial purposes.

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Vetoed

The following bills were approved by the Legislature and vetoed by the governor.

AB 909 (Hill), Reduced fine for failing to stop before making a right turn on a red light

Summary: This bill reduces from $100 to $35 the base fine for failing to make a full stop before making a right turn on a red light. The bill is intended to correct an error in 1997 legislation that increased the fine for red-light violations to $100 but inadvertently failed to exempt right turns on a red light, as reportedly intended by the author. The bill does not change existing penalties for a driver who injures someone (bicyclist, pedestrian, motor vehicle occupant) while unlawfully turning on a red light.

CBC's position: WATCH

Red-light cameras are an important tool for protecting bicyclists and making our roads safer. Drivers making right turns on red lights increasingly are captured by red-light cameras and being fined the $100 base fine, even though law enforcement actually distinguishes between violations where the driver makes a full stop and then proceeds to make an unsafe right turn (i.e., violating a pedestrian's right-of-way), which is subject to a $35 base fine, and violations where the driver fails to make a full stop before a right turn (i.e., a "California stop"), which is subject to the $100 base fine. Courts are reportedly seeing more appeals from drivers who are subject to the $100 fine for making the turn normally subject to the $35 fine. (Base fines are set by state law and subject to additional court costs and administrative fees that help fund the local court system; a driver subject to a $100 base fine pays about $440.)

Lowering the fine amount paid by drivers who are cited and fined even though they made a full stop before turning right would reduce drivers' resistance to paying those fines, which would result in more convictions and fewer appeals. More convictions mean more driving records are affected and more unsafe drivers, including repeat offenders, are ultimately forced off the road. Because this bill would not reduce the number of cameras in use or the number of citations being issued, CBC does not oppose it.

AB 2147 (Perez), Safe Routes to School construction program

Summary: This bill modifies the Safe Routes to School construction program administered by Caltrans to ensure that disadvantaged communities receive equitable access to Safe Routes to School funds by requiring Caltrans to give priority to proposals that benefit these communities and provide community residents with a stronger role in development of Safe Routes to School project proposals.

CBC's position: WATCH

Affording low-income communities with access to Safe Routes to School funding would help reduce traffic-related injuries and encourage walking and bicycling, which is consistent with principles supported by the Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership.

AB 2729 (Ammiano), Automated traffic enforcement

Summary: This bill authorizes the City and County of San Francisco to install, on a trial basis, a traffic camera to monitor prohibited right turns from eastbound Market Street onto the Central Freeway onramp at Octavia Street.

CBC's position: SUPPORT

Market Street is one of the most heavily traveled bike routes in San Francisco, but despite engineering and signage that prohibits right turns onto Octavia, the corner of Market and Octavia streets remains the site of ongoing collisions between motor vehicles and bicyclists. This bill would enable the City and County San Francisco to evaluate the effectiveness of current traffic controls and identify other opportunities for making this intersection safer for bicyclists. This bill is sponsored by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.
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Not approved

The following bills were not approved by the Legislature.

SB 1061 (Hancock), Increased bicycle access to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge west span

Summary: This bill authorizes the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to spend seismic retrofit toll revenues on a bicycle-pedestrian-maintenance pathway on the west span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Use of the toll revenues for the pathway would be conditioned on the project being included in the adopted regional transportation plan. The bill prohibits the Bay Area Toll Authority from increasing bridge tolls to fund the project.

CBC's position: SUPPORT

Extending bicycle access to the west span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge would connect bicycle facilities in San Francisco with those on the bridge's east span currently under construction. Giving bicyclists full access to the entire bridge will help promote bicycle travel between San Francisco and Oakland and other nearby East Bay communities.

SB 1362 (Simitian), Automated traffic enforcement systems

Summary: The bill is intended to ensure that government agencies operate automated traffic enforcement systems, sometimes also known as "red light cameras," for safety, not revenue, and that due process is afforded for citations issued as a result of these systems.

CBC's position: WATCH

Automated traffic enforcement systems help make roadways safer for bicyclists by deterring unsafe behavior by motorists. Appropriate controls on the installation and operation of these systems will help prevent the kinds of abuses that could lead to calls for their removal.

SB 1475 (Simitian), Increased penalties for hand-held cell phone use and texting by drivers and bicyclists

Summary: This bill increases the base fines for violating the existing ban on hand-held cell phone use and texting by drivers from $20 to $50 for a first offense and $50 to $100 for subsequent offenses and adds a point to a driver's record for a 2nd or subsequent violation. The bill extends the existing bans to bicyclists, however, fines would be $20 for a first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses (without additional court costs and administrative fees), with no point on a bicyclist's driving record for a violation.

CBC's position: SUPPORT

The rate of hand-held cell phone use and texting by drivers appears to be rising again, after an initial decline immediately following enactment of California's hand-held cell phone and texting bans. Just as it supported the existing cell phone and texting bans, CBC supports tougher penalties as a way to help discourage this form of distracted driving and thus provide greater protection to bicyclists and other road users who are particularly vulnerable to distracted drivers.

Extending the existing bans to bicyclists is appropriate given the growing body of research that demonstrates a significant level of cognitive impairment for anyone using a cell phone. CBC supports minimal fines for bicyclists consistent with the minimal evidence of harm to others caused by bicyclists who use cell phones while riding.

AB 1951 (Ammiano), Penalties for traffic violations that result in injuries

Summary: This bill increases penalties for a violation of California Vehicle Code Division 11 that results in an injury (excluding violations related to excessive speed, recklessness, driving under the influence, or driving while using a hand-held cell phone, which have separate, specific penalties). Under current law, such violations are an infraction subject to a base fine of $70 for an injury or $95 for great bodily injury (not counting additional court costs and administrative fees). Under this bill, a violation would be punishable as an infraction or a misdemeanor, with a base fine of $145-$1,000 (equivalent to the base fine for misdemeanor reckless driving without injury) and an optional jail sentence of 5-90 days.

CBC's position: SUPPRORT (SPONSOR)

CBC seeks equal justice for all injured victims of traffic violations by supporting comparable penalties for all injury-causing traffic violations. Existing law provides unequal justice by imposing comparatively low penalties for violations such as red light and stop sign violations, right-of-way violations, and prohibited turns, even though injuries caused by these violations can be every bit as severe as those resulting from speeding, recklessness, DUI or driving while using a cell phone. Although they apply to all road users subject to the California Vehicle Code, tougher penalties will help deter drivers from simple acts of carelessness and thus help protect bicyclists and pedestrians who are particularly vulnerable in any kind of motor vehicle collision.

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Past legislation

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 bike lanes
carquinez bridge dedication