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Supervisor Fielder urges state to give localities control over autonomous vehicles after bodega cat killed
Summary
Supervisor Fielder introduced a resolution urging the state legislature and governor to grant counties authority to decide whether autonomous vehicles may operate locally following a fatal incident involving a neighborhood cat; he cited privacy, workforce and traffic concerns and secured early cosponsors. (under 350 characters)
Supervisor Fielder used an in memoriam for a neighborhood bodega cat killed in an autonomous vehicle incident to introduce a resolution calling on the California Legislature and the governor to grant local governments county‑level authority to decide whether autonomous vehicles should operate on local roads.
Fielder said state law first authorized autonomous vehicles in 2012 and that a bill considered last year (identified in the hearing as SB 915) would have returned some local control but failed to pass. He argued local decision‑making would enable municipalities to address privacy, workforce, environmental, traffic and transit concerns raised by the proliferation of autonomous vehicles in San Francisco. Supervisors Chan, Chen and Walton were among the early cosponsors Fielder named.
The resolution as introduced calls on Sacramento to grant county‑level discretion over autonomous vehicle deployment so communities can coordinate regionally and tailor decisions to local transportation systems and public‑safety priorities. The item was introduced during new business and will follow the usual committee referral and hearing process.
Attribution: statements and the memorial were presented by Supervisor Fielder during introductions on Nov. 4.
