Assembly Transportation Committee advances package of bills on AVs, EV chargers, school safety and towing reform

The Assembly Transportation Committee advanced a slate of transportation measures on Oct. 26, voting to pass the bills to the next stage of the Legislature.

Committee members voted to send new regulations on commercial autonomous deliveries, electric-vehicle charger reliability standards, school-zone speed reductions and a prohibition on towing cars solely for unpaid parking tickets to appropriations or other committees for further consideration. Several bills drew extended public and member debate over safety, equity and local enforcement.

Why it matters: The package touches multiple issues that affect Californians’ daily travel and household costs — from how groceries are delivered and where chargers must work reliably, to whether a car can be towed for unpaid tickets. Lawmakers said they wanted to balance public safety and worker protections with regulatory certainty for new technologies.

What the committee did and key takeaways - Autonomous deliveries: The committee advanced AB 33, a proposal to require a human safety operator aboard driverless vehicles used to make commercial deliveries to homes or businesses. Proponents, including labor sponsors, framed the bill as a public-safety and jobs-protection measure; industry groups opposed it, saying it would block existing DMV-permitted deployments and drive companies to other states. The bill passed the committee by a 12–2 vote.

- EV charging reliability: AB 1423, which would require publicly funded EV chargers installed with state grants before 2024 to meet forthcoming California Energy Commission reliability standards and include enforcement mechanisms, passed out of committee. Supporters said California has spent more than $1.7 billion on charging infrastructure and needs accountability for uptime; charging-industry groups urged the Legislature to avoid retroactive requirements. The bill passed to Utilities and Energy.

- School-zone speed limits: AB 382 would lower school-zone speed limits to 20 mph when children are present, while allowing local jurisdictions flexibility to use hours or flashing beacons. Supporters, including Streets for All and AARP California, said lower speeds reduce fatalities; some members raised concerns about implementation and driver confusion. The committee passed the bill to Appropriations.

- Poverty tows: AB 1022 would repeal local authority to tow or immobilize vehicles solely to collect unpaid parking tickets. Supporters described “poverty tows” as costly, unconstitutional and counterproductive for low-income Californians; city and parking-industry groups warned the bill would remove tools local governments use to enforce parking and manage rights-of-way. The committee passed the measure to Appropriations, 9–3.

- EV, port and infrastructure pilots and planning: The committee advanced several additional bills: AB 605 would create a lower-emissions cargo-handling equipment pilot permitting hydrogen internal-combustion technologies recognized by the EU; AB 1132 would require Caltrans to add community resilience indicators to climate vulnerability assessments; AB 902 would require lead agencies to incorporate wildlife crossings into transportation projects in identified connectivity areas; AB 1014 would let Caltrans use discretion in speed assessments to set lower posted speeds on state routes that function as community arterials. Several of these bills passed with committee amendments.

Voices from the hearing - Mike Jacob, president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, told the committee the port industry seeks “certainty on the back end” so private firms will invest in new technologies: “We’re looking for assurance from the state of California that as we do that, we’ll do it in partnership with the Air Board.”

- Yesenia Perez of the Greenlining Institute, a sponsor of AB 1132, said planning must include vulnerable people: “With the right planning and systems in place, these deaths could have been preventable.”

- Rebecca Miller of the Western Center on Law and Poverty, a sponsor of the anti-tow bill, described poverty tows as punitive and costly: “A car can often be a family’s most valuable asset, and taking it to collect unpaid parking tickets is an outsized penalty.”

- Greg Kumala, a 28-year UPS delivery driver and Teamsters representative supporting AB 33, described the human judgment that drivers bring to routes: “Commercial deliveries require frequent stopping and going, navigating narrow streets, interacting in construction zones, being aware of children playing on the street.”

What’s next: Most bills passed to committee assignments that will consider fiscal, environmental or further policy issues. Several authors and committee members said they expect continued bargaining with industry and local governments as the measures move through the Legislature.

Votes at a glance (committee action and immediate next committee) - AB 33 (driverless commercial deliveries): Passed to Appropriations, 12 ayes, 2 noes. Outcome: passed committee. - AB 1423 (EV charger reliability for state-funded chargers): Passed to Utilities & Energy (roll call recorded; bill advanced). Outcome: passed committee. - AB 382 (reduce school-zone speed to 20 mph when children present): Passed to Appropriations (roll call recorded; bill advanced). Outcome: passed committee. - AB 1022 (prohibit towing vehicles solely to collect unpaid parking tickets): Passed to Appropriations, 9 ayes, 3 noes. Outcome: passed committee. - AB 605 (lower-emissions cargo-handling equipment pilot, hydrogen combustion allowance): Passed to Natural Resources (committee vote recorded; bill advanced). Outcome: passed committee. - AB 1132 (Caltrans community resilience indicators / Roads to Resilience Act): Passed to Appropriations (committee vote recorded; bill advanced). Outcome: passed committee. - AB 902 (require wildlife crossings in identified connectivity areas for transportation projects): Passed as amended to Local Government; recorded vote 9 ayes, 1 no. Outcome: passed committee as amended. - AB 1014 (Caltrans speed assessment flexibility for state routes that act as local arterials): Passed to Appropriations (committee vote recorded; bill advanced). Outcome: passed committee.

Details, amendments and follow-up: Several bills were advanced with committee amendments intended to narrow scope or add interagency consultation. Committee members repeatedly asked authors to continue stakeholder engagement — for example, industry groups on EV charger reliability and AV developers on the driverless-delivery language — and several members asked authors to return with clearer timelines or reporting triggers for legislative review.

A note on sources and oversight: Committee testimony included staff analysis, reports quoted by witnesses (for example, CARB scoping plans and the California Energy Commission’s data), and references to a first‑district Court of Appeal ruling concerning warrantless tows. In several cases members requested additional data or ongoing reporting as a condition for future legislative action.

The committee meeting record will be available via the Assembly’s website; members of the public and stakeholders seeking to influence later stages should track the bills as they move to appropriations, local government or utilities committees for hearings and fiscal review.