West Hollywood’s Transportation and Mobility Commission met Wednesday to discuss policies related to the growing presence of self-driving cars. The commission received information on state legislation regarding autonomous vehicles and worked on developing policy recommendations that could be included in the city’s legislative priorities.
The commission reviewed several bills from the 2023-2024 California legislative session. One of the laws discussed was AB 1777, introduced by Assembly Member Phil Ting. This bill, now signed into law, allows local police officers to issue notices to self-driving car companies if their vehicles are not following traffic laws. The companies must report these notices to the Department of Motor Vehicles within 72 hours. The law also requires an emergency override system in self-driving cars for use by first responders.
Another piece of legislation reviewed was SB 915, introduced by Senator Dave Cortese. The bill would have required autonomous vehicle services to get local government approval before operating and mandated an emergency override system. The bill did not pass, but it raised discussions about the need for local versus state control of self-driving car operations.
AB 2286, proposed by Assembly Member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, was also considered. This bill aimed to prohibit the operation of heavy self-driving vehicles — those over 10,001 pounds — without a human safety operator present. Although the bill was vetoed, it raised safety concerns about large autonomous vehicles on public roads.
The commission also looked at AB 3061, introduced by Assembly Member Matt Haney. This bill sought to require autonomous vehicle manufacturers to report any collisions or system failures to the DMV, with the DMV making this information publicly available. However, the bill was vetoed.
City staff provided the commission with recommendations from the California League of Cities, which included supporting local oversight of self-driving car tests, allowing local governments to issue tickets to self-driving cars that violate traffic laws, and ensuring that first responders have the ability to stop and redirect autonomous vehicles when necessary.
Staff also recommended adding several key policy priorities to the city’s legislative agenda, including supporting laws that give cities control over pilot testing programs for self-driving cars and ensuring that self-driving car services promote equity and sustainability. City Hall believes that without proper regulations, self-driving cars could worsen congestion, increase pollution and be unaffordable for low-income residents.
The feedback and policy priorities discussed at the meeting will be incorporated into the city’s legislative priorities and presented to City Council for consideration in early 2025.
