53075.1.
(a) Notwithstanding Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code, every city, county, or city and county in which an autonomous vehicle service has received authorization by the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Public Utilities Commission, or any other applicable state agency to operate, may protect the public health, safety, and welfare by enacting an ordinance
or ordinances in regard to autonomous vehicle services within the jurisdiction of the city, county, or city and county.(c)
(b) Each city, county, or city and county that enacts an ordinance pursuant to this section shall provide, at a minimum, a policy for entry into the business of providing autonomous vehicle services in that ordinance. The policy shall include, but not be limited to, a permitting program for autonomous vehicle services that includes all of the following provisions:
(1) The establishment or registration of rates for the provision of an autonomous vehicle service conducting commercial passenger service that meets the following requirements:
(A) The autonomous vehicle service may set fares or charge a flat rate. However, the city, county, or city and county may set a maximum rate.
(B) The autonomous vehicle service may use any type of device or technology approved by the Division of Measurement Standards to calculate fares, including the use of Global Positioning System metering, provided that the device or technology complies with Section 12500.5 of the Business and Professions Code and with all regulations established pursuant to Section 12107 of the Business and Professions Code.
(C) The autonomous vehicle service shall disclose fares, fees, or rates to the customer. A permitted
autonomous vehicle service may satisfy this requirement by disclosing fares, fees, or rates on its internet website, mobile telephone application, or telephone orders upon request by the customer. The rate may also be provided on the exterior of the vehicle or be clearly visible in either print or electronic form inside the vehicle.
(2) The establishment of reasonable vehicle caps and hours of service restrictions.
(3) The establishment of a fee schedule and disciplinary process for any moving violations or traffic obstruction caused during the operation of a vehicle by an autonomous vehicle service.
(d)
(c) Each city, county, or city and county may levy service charges, fees, or assessments in an amount sufficient to pay for the costs of carrying out an ordinance enacted in regard to autonomous vehicle services pursuant to this section.
(e)
(d) A permitted autonomous vehicle service conducting commercial passenger service shall do all of the following:
(1) Maintain reasonable financial
responsibility to conduct passenger transportation services in accordance with the requirements of an ordinance enacted pursuant to this section.
(2) (A) Ensure that its service complies with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Section 51 of the Civil Code), the Disabled Persons Act (Part 2.5 (commencing with Section 54) of Division 1 of the Civil Code), and all other applicable state and federal disability access laws.
(B) Maintain a disabled access education and training program to instruct its employees on compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et
seq.) and amendments thereto, and state disability rights laws, including making clear that it is illegal to decline to serve a person with a disability or who has a service animal.
laws and regulations. The education and training program shall include instruction on the duty to provide equal access to passengers with various disabilities, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(i) The obligation to provide service to those with service animals.
(ii) Providing effective communication, including the right to alternative formats and auxiliary aids and services.
(iii) Making reasonable accommodations or modifications to rules, policies, and practices where necessary to provide equal access to the autonomous vehicle service for a person with a disability.
(3) Use wheelchair-accessible vehicles or,
if an autonomous vehicle service uses nonwheelchair-accessible vehicles, the autonomous vehicle service must demonstrate that it is providing wheelchair-accessible service that is equivalent to nonwheelchair-accessible service in terms of service area, response time, availability, and wait time.
(A) An autonomous vehicle service that uses nonwheelchair-accessible vehicles may provide wheelchair-accessible service by supplementing its fleet with its own wheelchair-accessible vehicles or by contracting with a third party to provide wheelchair-accessible service.
(B) An autonomous vehicle service that uses nonwheelchair-accessible vehicles shall collect and maintain records and data on trips provided, trips declined, trips canceled, wait times, response times, and service availability for rides requested by users needing wheelchair-accessible vehicles and for other users to establish
that its wheelchair-accessible service is equivalent to its nonwheelchair-accessible service.
(C) An autonomous vehicle service shall maintain the records and data required by this paragraph for a minimum of five years and make anonymized data available to the public.
(4) Ensure that the autonomous vehicle service’s internet website, mobile application, customer service platforms, human-machine interface, and all other public-facing technologies are readily apparent and accessible to people with disabilities.
(A) All information provided on the autonomous vehicle’s internet website, mobile application, customer service platforms, human-machine interface, and public-facing technologies must be in plain language.
(B) The method for requesting a
wheelchair-accessible vehicle shall be readily apparent on any internet website, mobile application, customer service platforms, human-machine interface, public-facing technologies, screens, or other interface where users may request a ride.
(3)
(5) Maintain its motor vehicles used in passenger transportation services in a safe operating condition, and in compliance with the Vehicle Code, subject to annual inspection by the city, county, or city and county in which it operates, at a facility that is certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence or a facility registered with
the Bureau of Automotive Repair.
(4)
(6) Provide the city, county, or city and county that has issued a permit under this section an address of an office or terminal where documents supporting the factual matters specified in the showing required by this subdivision may be inspected by the permitting city, county, or city and county.
(5)
(7) (A) Include an interoperability or override system in each of its vehicles accessible by first responders in case of an emergency.
(B) Provide training for first responders on how to interact with the vehicles and the use of the override system. The training shall be updated when electronic updates that affect how the interoperability or override system operates are pushed to the vehicles.
(6)
(8) Establish data transparency sharing agreements necessary to administer or carry out an ordinance
enacted pursuant to this section.
(7)
(9) Comply with all provisions of an ordinance enacted
pursuant to this section.
(f)(1)It shall be unlawful to operate an autonomous vehicle service without a valid permit to operate issued by each city, county, or city and county in which the service operates.
(2)The minimum fine for violation of paragraph (1) shall be five thousand dollars ($5,000) and may be imposed administratively by the permitting city, county, or city and county.
(g)
(e) A city or county may do any of the following:
(1) Enter into an agreement with any other city, county, or city and county to form a joint powers authority for the purpose of regulating or administering autonomous vehicle services that
operate within the jurisdictional boundaries of the joint powers authority.
(2) Enter into an agreement with a transit agency for the purpose of regulating or administering the autonomous vehicle service that operates within the jurisdictional boundaries of the transit agency.
The transit agency may exercise all powers granted to the city or county that is a party to the agreement by this section in order to regulate or administer autonomous vehicle services within those boundaries.
(h)
(f) For purposes of this section:
(1) “Autonomous vehicle service” means any entity that has received authority to conduct commercial passenger service or engage in commercial activity using driverless vehicles by the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Public Utilities Commission, or any other state agency.
(2) “Reasonable vehicle caps” shall mean that the allowable number of vehicles does not contribute to a significant and measurable increase in traffic congestion as determined by the local jurisdiction’s appropriate transportation agency.
(i)
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an airport operator shall have separate and ultimate authority to regulate autonomous vehicle service access to the airport and set access fees for autonomous vehicles at the airport.
(j)
(h) Nothing in this section shall affect the authority of a jurisdiction to regulate autonomous vehicle service to an airport it owns or operates and to set access fees or requirements.