|
Amended
IN
Assembly
July 03, 2019 |
|
Amended
IN
Senate
May 17, 2019 |
|
Amended
IN
Senate
April 01, 2019 |
| Introduced by Senator Allen |
December 19, 2018 |
Existing law establishes the Office of Planning and Research in the Governor’s office, which serves the Governor and the Governor’s cabinet for long-range planning and research and constitutes the comprehensive state planning agency. Existing law permits 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 being operated if specified requirements are met.
This bill would establish certain guiding principles relating to autonomous vehicles in order to ensure that these vehicles support the state’s efforts to, among other things, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage efficient land use. The bill would require the Office of Planning and
Research to convene an autonomous vehicle interagency working group of specified state agencies, including, among others, the Transportation Agency, the Department of Transportation, the State Air Resources Board, and the Department of Motor Vehicles, to guide policy development for autonomous vehicle technology consistent with the statewide principles described above. The bill would require the working group to submit its recommendations to further these principles to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2022. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.
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 autonomous vehicle technology, as it has the potential to eventually contribute—along with other transportation developments—to safety,
mobility, environmental, economic,
public health, and social equity benefits. Autonomous vehicle technology continues to be developed and its full potential has yet to be realized.
(b)Automobile crashes are a leading cause of death and 94 percent of serious automobile crashes are linked to human choices or errors. Autonomous vehicle technology may help to avoid human-error crashes and significantly improve vehicle safety.
(c)California leads the nation in the number of pedestrians and bicyclists killed by motor vehicles, and ranks sixth highest in such deaths per capita. Deaths of pedestrians and bicyclists from motor vehicles are increasing nationwide. Making the roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists could help to increase the use of active transportation, which is an affordable, low-impact alternative to driving that supports California’s clean transportation goals and equity goals.
(d)Autonomous vehicle technology could significantly transform California’s entire transportation system,
potentially affecting both mobility and land use patterns across the state. Depending on how autonomous vehicle technology develops, this technology could help California attain its greenhouse gas emissions reduction, air quality improvement, and equity goals or could potentially hinder these efforts.
(e)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, projects that autonomous
vehicles could 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 (VMT).
(f)According to research conducted by the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California at Davis, autonomous vehicles could increase vehicle travel by 15 to 20 percent by 2050. This would contribute to more greenhouse gas emissions, a worsening of air quality, and increased traffic congestion.
The same research also suggests that widespread on-demand travel, when supported by substantial ride sharing and electric vehicles, can potentially 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.
(g)For many families, especially those without access to a car, public transportation, biking, and walking are the critical link to employment, education, childcare facilities, and other important services. California should continue to invest in public transportation, as well as safe routes for biking, walking, and other micro-mobility options. Autonomous vehicle technology should be developed to complement and support these modes.
(h)Potential positive impacts of autonomous vehicles can be maximized and potential negative impacts resulting from autonomous vehicles can be mitigated and, in some cases, eliminated if policies are developed to
promote deployment of autonomous vehicles in high-capacity shared fleets, encourage pooled rides, encourage electrification of autonomous vehicles, and
expand high-quality public transportation and infrastructure and programs for active transportation.
(i)The State Air Resources Board’s 2017 Scoping Plan proposed implementing a process for intrastate agency and regional and local transportation coordination on autonomous vehicles to ensure shared policy goals in achieving safe, energy efficient, and low carbon autonomous vehicle deployment that also contribute to VMT reductions.
(j)The 2018 Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Action Plan Priorities Update calls on the Office of Planning and Research and the State Air Resources Board to lead an autonomous vehicle interagency group to determine policies necessary to ensure that the rise of autonomous transportation benefits all Californians, both environmentally and economically, and to consider the intersection of autonomous and ZEV technology, as well as the implications of autonomous vehicles on land use and VMT.
(a)The Office of Planning and Research shall convene an autonomous vehicle interagency working group to guide policy development for autonomous passenger vehicle technology consistent with the principles described in Section 65054.
(b)The following entities shall participate in the interagency working group:
(1)The Transportation Agency.
(2)The Department of
Transportation.
(3)The Department of Motor Vehicles.
(4)The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.
(5)The Strategic Growth Council.
(6)The State Air Resources Board.
(7)Representatives of local government as determined by the Office of Planning and Research.
(c)The Office of Planning and Research may invite other organizations to participate, as well as create advisory groups.
(d)On or before January 1, 2022, the working group shall submit to the Legislature recommendations to further the principles described in Section 65054. In developing these recommendations, the working group shall do all of the following:
(1)Examine specific policy options, including both mandates and incentives,
and identify actions that require further statutory authority.
(2)Identify additional research and data needs.
(3)Provide an opportunity for input by the general public.
(4)Consider other agency processes or programs that are ongoing and data points that are being collected.
To ensure autonomous passenger vehicles support the state’s efforts to improve road safety, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and criteria air pollutants, reduce traffic congestion and vehicle miles traveled, encourage efficient land use, and access to mobility and economic opportunities for all Californians, the following shall be the principles guiding the working group established in Section 65053:
(a)Reduce motor vehicle crashes and improve road safety for all users.
(b)Maximize ridesharing and shared use of autonomous passenger vehicles by encouraging pooling and prioritizing pooled vehicles’ mobility.
(c)Shift the use of
autonomous passenger vehicles to zero-emission technology as quickly as is feasible.
(d)Deploy autonomous passenger vehicles in ways that reduce overall emissions from all vehicles on the road consistent with the state’s climate and environmental goals.
(e)Integrate
autonomous passenger vehicles as part of, and complementary to, a multimodal transportation system, including public transit, walking, and biking, that moves people and goods to destinations quickly and efficiently and that is, taken as a whole, more energy efficient, space efficient, environmentally benign, and beneficial to human health.
(f)Support compact
infill development rather than accelerating sprawl, recognizing there are many factors that contribute to sprawl, and further the implementation of robust policies that support the state planning priorities described in Section 65041.1.
(g)Increase the availability of affordable mobility options, particularly for low-income and disadvantaged
communities, and increase accessibility for individuals with physical and cognitive impairments.
(h)Promote the transportation needs of rural residents and communities in a manner that improves access to destinations and goods without increasing sprawl.
For the purposes of this article, “autonomous passenger vehicle” means a “passenger vehicle” as defined in Section 465 of the Vehicle Code that is also an “autonomous vehicle” as defined in Section 38750 of the Vehicle Code.