Bipartisan Lawmakers Vote to Support AV Legislation Protecting Public Safety, Good Jobs

(SACRAMENTO) – The California Assembly Transportation Committee yesterday passed two Teamsters-supported bills, Assembly Bill 2286 (AB 2286) and Assembly Bill 3061 (AB 3061), that would regulate autonomous vehicles (AVs) in the state. AB 2286 and AB 3061 are part of the CARS legislative package on autonomous vehicles that the Teamsters are advocating for to protect good jobs and public safety, alongside Senate Bill 915, which would require AV companies to secure local approvals prior to starting operations. 

“The Teamsters applaud the elected leaders on the Assembly Transportation Committee who supported these bills to protect California’s streets and hold autonomous vehicle companies accountable,” said Chris Griswold, Teamsters International Vice President At-Large and President of Teamsters Joint Council 42. “From robotaxis to autonomous big rigs, AVs should not be operating on our roads without a human driver behind the wheel. We cannot trust AV companies to be transparent about their internal operations.”

AB 2286, formerly Assembly Bill 316, requires a trained human operator behind the wheel of self-driving trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds, which will preserve hundreds of thousands of good-paying trucking jobs and keep California roads safe. AB 316 was first introduced by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-4) in January 2023 and received overwhelming bipartisan support in the legislature, with more than 90 percent of California lawmakers voting in favor of the legislation.

AB 3061, introduced by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-17), would require AV companies to publicly report any vehicle collisions, traffic violations, disengagements, assaults, or harassment involving their vehicles to the Dept. of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The bill is critical to ensuring public transparency and accountability, especially as AV companies fail to publicly report major incidents on California roads. The California DMV has not tracked at-fault data for collisions involving AVs for several years. 

“As AV companies deploy their untested technology on public roads across the country, California has an opportunity to set the national standard and put safety and good jobs first. These are issues that everyone cares about, and we can clearly see that from the mounting bipartisan support for AB 2286 and AB 3061,” said Peter Finn, Teamsters Western Region International Vice President and President of Teamsters Joint Council 7. “It’s time to pass common sense AVs safety legislation that will benefit all Californians. It’s time to pass AB 2286 and 3061 into California law.”

As self-driving trucks are deployed to America’s highways, robotaxis have been reported to run over pedestrians, block first responders from their jobs, come within seconds of colliding with children, and cause traffic pile-ups. These AV safety incidents have driven widespread safety concerns among the California public. A new report from the American Automobile Association shows that over 91 percent of drivers expressed fear or uncertainty about driving alongside AVs.

“The Teamsters are standing up to Big Tech and AV companies who only care about their profits, not about working people or public safety,” said Lindsay Dougherty, Teamsters Western Region International Vice President and Director of the Teamsters Motion Picture and Theatrical Trade Division.“Californians, and the people we elect to public office, have been sounding the alarm for over a year about the dangers of autonomous trucks and cars. It’s past time we get a say on how this unproven technology will impact our lives and our jobs.”

SB 915 will receive a hearing in the California Senate Committee on Local Government tomorrow. Following the hearing, the committee members are expected to vote on the bill.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.

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