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Newsom sides with autonomous vehicle companies, vetoes safety rules


Gov. Gavin Newsom sided with robotaxi and autonomous vehicle companies Friday when he vetoed bills that would have subjected them to new safety rules.

One bill, AB3061 by Assembly Member Matt Haney, would have required AV companies to report more data on crashes and traffic violations to the state. Newsom also vetoed a bill, AB2286 by Assembly Member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, that would have required human operators on autonomous trucks.

Companies are only required to report to the state collisions, mileage and “disengagements” — when an autonomous vehicle is manually taken over after a technical or safety issue — if they are using testing permits. The Haney bill Newsom vetoed would have required companies with permits to deploy robotaxis in California to meet those same reporting requirements. It also would have required the Department of Motor Vehicles to publish the information online.

In a veto message, Newsom said the DMV was already working on its own draft regulations related to autonomous vehicles. He also said the DMV would not be able to implement the new policy by the July deadline in the bill. 

Haney, a San Francisco Democrat, said his bill was prompted by reports of crashes and other safety issues related to autonomous vehicles.

“There is strong public interest in AV data transparency and safety,” Haney told his fellow lawmakers during a committee hearing on the bill. “This bill will ensure that we have that level of transparency and accountability that’s needed.”

The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association opposed the measure because it would have required AV companies to report more data.

“Any new reporting requirements come with costs, and this bill would add significant new compliance obligations on an industry that’s already subject to a patchwork for federal and state reporting regimes,” the group’s government affairs director, Renée Gibson, told lawmakers at the hearing.

But he’s also sided with autonomous vehicle companies in the past. He angered his allies in the labor movement last year when he vetoed an earlier version of the bill to require human operators in autonomous trucks. In his veto message at the time, he argued the DMV already has sufficient power to regulate the burgeoning autonomous vehicle industry. He echoed that argument in his veto of the newer bill Friday, noting that DMV has released draft rules for self-driving trucks that would restrict their use on certain roads and limit their ability to transport hazardous materials.

Reach Sophia Bollag: Sophia.Bollag@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @SophiaBollag



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