California Bicycle Coalition (CalBike) 2023 Legislative Watch page.
Sept 21, 2023 update: CalBike End-of-Session Legislative Recap 2023.

Bicycle Safety Stop FAQs and June 5, 2023 report, “Legislative Update: Mostly Positive Results for Active Transportation Bills at Midpoint.”

To keep in touch with all updates from the California Bicycle Coalition / CalBike, sign up for their mailing list at https://www.calbike.org/join-the-calbike-mailing-list/.

To subscribe to Bicycling Monterey’s email list, refer to our contact page: https://bikemonterey.org/contact-me.

* * *

The info below was previously published May 23, 2023.

Update for 2023 from the California Bicycle Coalition policy director: Bike, Yield, Go: Trying to Pass the Safety Stop (Again) includes “3 reasons we think the bicycle safety stop could win in 2023.” Bicycling Monterey encourages California residents to help make that happen by telling your CA Assembly member you support Assembly Bill 73 – Bike Safety Stop. CalBike makes it easy; go to the following link: https://www.calbike.org/bicycle-safety-stop-law/

Also see CalBike’s top priority bills and entire Active Transportation slate for 2023: https://www.calbike.org/legislative-watch/

We encourage sharing news about CalBike’s legislative efforts on the social media platforms you are active on, e.g., as Bicycling Monterey has on Mastodon (see post below).

* * *

The info below was previously published March 16, 2022 and has not been updated.

• Learn more about the Bicycle Safety Stop, and get updates from CalBike: https://www.calbike.org/bicycle-safety-stop-law/
• Learn more about all 2022 California Bicycle Coalition legislative efforts: https://www.calbike.org/bike-friendly-bills-2022/

Bicycle Safety Stop

California Assembly Bill 1713—introduced 26 January 2022 by Assembly Member Boerner Horvath https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1713—is a reprise of the 2021 campaign to pass a Bicycle Safety Stop bill for California, to allow people on bicycles to treat stop signs as yield signs.

In response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2021 veto message, the new law proposed in 2022 will only apply to people ages eighteen or older.

For updates—including when it’s time to contact California assembly members and senators, and the governor, for support—sign up for the California Bicycle Coalition’s email list: https://www.calbike.org

* * *

The post below published on 9 October 2021, with one or more changes made on 16 October 2021.

Bicycle Safety Stop – California’s Assembly Bill 122, vetoed by Governor Newsom

“In Delaware, a recent study found that collisions involving bicycles at intersections decreased by 23% after the state made the safety stop legal. The governor’s veto prevents California from joining a long list of states that have implemented the safety stop: Idaho, Delaware, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Arkansas, Utah, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. None of those states have reported any safety problems after implementing this rule.”—California Bicycle Coalition in October 11, 2021 post: https://www.calbike.org/governor-newsom-vetoes-bill-to-improve-bike-safety/

The governor’s veto of the safety stop bill is very disappointing. The Governor cites the importance of safety and climate and equity, but does not understand how supporting walking and bicycling advance those goals. We have some educating to do.

— California Bicycle Coalition (@CalBike) October 9, 2021

October 8, 2021 legislative update – https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/10/08/governor-newsom-issues-legislative-update-10-8-21/ vetoes included AB 122, the Bicycle Safety Stop bill. The governor’s veto message: https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/AB-122-1082021.pdf.

On September 8, 2021, the Bicycle Safety Stop bill, having been approved by the CA Assembly and CA Senate, was submitted for the governor’s signature. Read the text of the bill, which was anticipated to become law in January 2022—until vetoed by the governor on October 8.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB122

https://twitter.com/BikeMonterey/status/1369780159625060354?s=20

Below, a related video from the California Bicycle Coalition / CalBike.

This post was first published March 16, 2022. It was updated in part on May 23, 2023. On June 7, 2023, it was republished to highlight CalBike’s related June 5, 2023 posts, and again on Sept 30, 2023 to highlight CalBike’s related Sept 21 post. NOTE: To keep in touch with all updates from the California Bicycle Coalition / CalBike, sign up for their mailing list at https://www.calbike.org/join-the-calbike-mailing-list/.