Sacramento, CA — California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has vetoed laws that will have banned autonomous trucks weighing 10,000-plus kilos from working on the state’s roadways with no particular person on board.
A.B. 316 additionally would have prevented the California Highway Patrol and Department of Motor Vehicles from contemplating permits for AVs till 2029.
Newsom writes in a Sept. 22 veto message that the proposed bill is “unnecessary for the regulation and oversight of heavy-duty autonomous vehicle technology in California, as existing law provides sufficient authority to create the appropriate regulatory framework.”
The governor cites 2012 laws that allows California’s DMV to work with the state freeway patrol, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and “others with relevant expertise” to find out rules associated to autonomous trucks.
Lawmakers in January launched A.B. 316 within the California Assembly. The bipartisan laws was unanimously accredited by the Senate Transportation Committee on July 12 and on Sept. 11 handed within the California Senate and Assembly.
The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association backs the governor’s resolution to veto the bill. “As a result, California’s safety experts can continue to evaluate autonomous vehicle technology and consider appropriate regulatory action,” AVIA Executive Director Jeff Farrah mentioned in a press launch.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters had taken half in a Sept. 19 rally calling on Newsom to signal A.B. 316 into legislation. In a Sept. 23 post on X, previously often called Twitter, Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien wrote that Newsom, who vetoed the bill on a Friday night, “doesn’t have the guts to face working people. He’d rather give away our jobs in the dead of night.”
O’Brien added that vetoing the bill is “giving a green light to put these dangerous rigs on the road.”
