Cal Cities-sponsored bill puts local officials in the driver’s seat

By Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor, and Damon Conklin, legislative affairs lobbyist 

A bill backed by Cal Cities, labor advocates, and local government groups would allow cities and counties to pass rules for driverless vehicles — just like they can for taxicabs. Local officials in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and elsewhere have expressed opposition to the state’s haphazard approval of “self-driving" robotaxis. 

Over the last year, driverless vehicles have delayed or blocked emergency vehicles, interfered with active firefighting and crime scenes, and halted traffic. In one high-profile incident, a pedestrian was run over and dragged by a Cruise robotaxi after she was hit by another car. The state suspended Cruise’s permit only after it became clear it had misled regulators about the severity of the event.  

SB 915 (Cortese) would allow local governments to consider adequate safeguards that promote community safety, such as reasonable vehicle caps, data transparency rules, and interactions with emergency responders, as well as regulate maximum fare rates, ensure ADA accessibility, and perform annual inspections for health and safety. The measure is modeled after the existing statute that allows local governments to pass ordinances regulating taxicabs. 

The robotaxi rollout process is currently dictated entirely by state agencies — without any input from impacted community members and regardless of local taxi rules. Local officials cannot even determine their impact on local traffic conditions. In San Francisco, driverless vehicles interfered with emergency responders over 70 times in 2023.  

There’s currently little that law enforcement and first responders can do when driverless cars block or interfere with emergency vehicles. Lawmakers are considering additional bills focused on enforcement actions.