Bill Text: CA SB936 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended


Bill Title: Office of Planning and Research: Automated Vehicles Smart Planning Task Force.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-25 - May 25 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB936 Detail]

Download: California-2017-SB936-Amended.html

Amended  IN  Senate  April 26, 2018
Amended  IN  Senate  April 16, 2018
Amended  IN  Senate  March 21, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill No. 936


Introduced by Senator Allen

January 25, 2018


An act to add Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 65053) to Chapter 1.5 of Division 1 of Title 7 of, and to repeal Section 65053.1 of, the Government Code, relating to state government.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 936, as amended, Allen. Office of Planning and Research: Automated Vehicles Smart Planning Task Force.
Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research in the Governor’s office, which serves the Governor and his or her cabinet for long-range planning and research and constitutes the comprehensive state planning agency. Existing law permits the operation of an automated vehicle on public roads for testing purposes by a driver who possesses the proper class of license for the type of vehicle being operated if specified requirements are met.
This bill would require the Office of Planning and Research in the Governor’s office to convene an Automated Vehicles Smart Planning Task Force, consisting of representatives from the University of California, local government, and specified others, and would require the task force, on or before January 1, 2021, to submit to relevant policy committees of the Legislature recommendations to ensure that deployment of automated light-duty vehicles promotes and does not hinder specified state policies and objectives. The bill would state various findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to automated vehicles.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) California, as a technological hub for innovation, should support the continued research and development of automated vehicle technology, as it has the potential to provide enormous environmental, economic, and social equity benefits.
(b) Automated vehicle technology is also poised to transform California’s entire transportation system, affecting both mobility and land use patterns across the state.
(c) Depending on how automated vehicle technology develops, this technology could help California attain its greenhouse gas reduction and air quality improvement goals or could potentially hinder them.
(d) According to research conducted by the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California at Davis, automated vehicles will make travel less onerous, which could increase vehicle travel by 15 to 20 percent by 2050. This would contribute to more greenhouse gas emissions.
(e) An increase in vehicle miles traveled by automated vehicles could lead to increased traffic congestion and sprawl, effects that could impact regions, cities, and neighborhoods disproportionately.
(f) Research funded through the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 20-102, Impacts of Connected Vehicles and Automated Vehicles on State and Local Transportation Agencies, confirmed that automated vehicles will lead to changes in land use patterns that could either support or undermine efforts to fight climate change and reduce sprawl and vehicle miles traveled.
(g) According to research conducted by the National Center for Sustainable Transportation, active transportation (walking and bicycling) makes an important potential contribution to the reduction of vehicle miles traveled while also creating significant health benefits. Evidence also indicates that a barrier to increased active transportation is fear of being struck by a motor vehicle. Therefore, a primary goal of automated vehicles should be to reduce the risk of harm to those undertaking active transportation.
(h) Negative impacts resulting from automated vehicles can be mitigated and, in some cases, eliminated if policies are adopted to guide their development and use. Strategies include commercializing automated electric vehicles, minimizing private vehicle ownership, encouraging ride sharing, and expanding high-quality public transportation and infrastructure and programs for active transportation.
(i) Research from the University of California at Davis has shown that widespread on-demand travel, when supported by substantial ride sharing and electric vehicles, can reduce car travel by over 50 percent, reduce carbon emissions from transportation by 80 percent, and cut the cost of transportation infrastructure and operations by 40 percent by 2050.
(j) To ensure automated vehicle technology fulfills the promise of environmental sustainability, economic prosperity, and social equity for all Californians, the state must further research the potential externalities of automated vehicles and develop policy recommendations that fully mitigate negative impacts without hindering the development of the technology.

SEC. 2.

 Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 65053) is added to Chapter 1.5 of Division 1 of Title 7 of the Government Code, to read:
Article  5.5.  Automated Vehicles Smart Planning Task Force

65053.
 (a) The Office of Planning and Research shall convene an Automated Vehicles Smart Planning Task Force, which shall include representatives from the University of California and other academic institutions, local government and metropolitan planning organizations, transit agencies, automated vehicle and electric vehicle manufacturers, transportation network companies, labor organizations, clean transportation organizations, and environmental organizations, property casualty companies or property casualty insurance trade organizations, and disability rights organizations.
(b) Members of the task force shall have expertise in automated vehicles, land use planning, traffic congestion, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, clean transportation, or other topics as necessary to submit the recommendations specified in Section 65053.1.

65053.1.
 (a) On or before January 1, 2021, the task force shall submit to the relevant policy committees of the Legislature recommendations to ensure that deployment of automated light-duty vehicles promotes and does not hinder any of the following policies and objectives:
(1) Achievement of California’s clean air and climate goals.
(2) Reduction in vehicle miles traveled, consistent with Section 65080.
(3) Reduction in traffic congestion.
(4) Adoption of electric vehicles and other zero emission vehicles to meet California’s goal of five million zero emission vehicles on the road by 2030.
(5) Increased travel mode share of, and integration with, existing and future public transportation and transit networks.
(6) Increased travel mode share of bicycling and walking and integration with local, regional, and state policies that support this aim.
(7) Achievement of sustainable community strategies and priorities, including infill and compact development.
(8) Shared rather than single passenger mobility.
(9) Accessibility for persons with disabilities.
(10) Environmental, economic, and social justice equity, including equitable access to clean transportation and mobility.
(b) Pursuant to Section 10231.5, this section is repealed on January 1, 2025.

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