BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1298|
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                              UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 1298
          Author:   Padilla (D)
          Amended:  8/24/12
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMM  :  8-0, 04/10/12
          AYES: DeSaulnier, Gaines, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley, Rubio, 
            Simitian, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Harman

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           SENATE FLOOR  :  37-0, 5/21/12
          AYES:  Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, 
            Cannella, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Emmerson, 
            Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, 
            La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, 
            Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, 
            Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Correa, Harman, Runner

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-25, 8/24/12 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Autonomous vehicles

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill establishes conditions for the 
          operation of autonomous vehicles upon public roadways.

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           Assembly Amendments  revise and recast the bill with a 
          similar intent as it left the Senate. 

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law defines a vehicle as "a device by 
          which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or 
          drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively 
          by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or 
          tracks."  Existing law provides numerous rules governing 
          the operation of vehicles on the state's public and private 
          roads.  It does not, however, require that a person drive a 
          vehicle.

          This bill:

            1.  Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding 
              new technologies that permit motor vehicles to operate 
              without the active control and continuous monitoring of 
              a human operator and the need to encourage the current 
              and future development, testing, and operation of 
              autonomous vehicles on the state's public roads. 

            2.  Defines "autonomous technology" as a technology that 
              has the capability to drive a vehicle without the 
              active physical control or continuous monitoring by a 
              human operator. 

            3.  Defines an "autonomous vehicle" as any vehicle 
              equipped with autonomous technology that has been 
              integrated into that vehicle. 

            4.  Specifies that an autonomous vehicle does not include 
              a vehicle that is equipped with one or more collision 
              avoidance systems, including, but not limited to, 
              electronic blind spot assistance, automated emergency 
              braking systems, park assist, adaptive cruise control, 
              lane keep assist, lane departure warning, traffic jam 
              and queuing assist, or other similar systems that 
              enhance safety or provide driver assistance, but are 
              not capable, collectively or singularly, of driving the 
              vehicle without the active control or monitoring of a 
              human operator. 

            5.  Defines an "operator" of an autonomous vehicle as the 
              person who is seated in the driver's seat, or if there 

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              is no person in the driver's seat, causes the 
              autonomous technology to engage. 

            6.  Defines a "manufacturer" of autonomous technology as 
              the person who originally manufactures a vehicle and 
              equips autonomous technology on the originally 
              completed vehicle or, in the case of a vehicle not 
              originally equipped with autonomous technology by the 
              vehicle manufacturer, the person that modifies the 
              vehicle by installing autonomous technology to convert 
              it to an autonomous vehicle after the vehicle was 
              originally manufactured. 

            7.  Allows an autonomous vehicle to be operated on public 
              roads for testing purposes by a driver who possesses 
              the proper license for the vehicle being operated if it 
              is being operated on roads in this state solely by 
              employees, contractors, or other persons designated by 
              the manufacturer of the autonomous technology. Under 
              this scenario, the driver must be seated in the 
              driver's seat, monitoring the safe operation of the 
              autonomous vehicle, and must be capable of taking over 
              immediate manual control of the autonomous vehicle in 
              the event of an autonomous technology failure or other 
              emergency. Prior to the start of testing in this state, 
              the person performing the testing must obtain an 
              instrument of insurance, surety bond, or proof of 
              self-insurance in the amount of $5 million dollars and 
              provide evidence of such in a form and manner required 
              by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). 

            8.  Prohibits an autonomous vehicle from being operated 
              on public roads until the manufacturer submits an 
              application to DMV that is approved by DMV. 

            9.  Requires the application to include a certification 
              by the manufacturer that the technology satisfies all 
              of the following: 

               A.     The autonomous vehicle has a mechanism to 
                 engage and disengage the autonomous technology that 
                 is easily accessible to the operator; 

               B.     The autonomous vehicle has a visual indicator 

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                 inside the cabin to indicate when the autonomous 
                 technology is engaged; 

               C.     The autonomous vehicle has a system to safely 
                 alert the operator if an autonomous technology 
                 failure is detected while the autonomous technology 
                 is engaged, and when an alert is given, the system 
                 does either of the following: 

                           Require the operator to take control of 
                    the autonomous vehicle; or, 

                           Allow the autonomous vehicle to come to a 
                    complete stop if the operator does not or is 
                    unable to take control of the autonomous vehicle. 


               A.     The autonomous vehicle allows the operator to 
                 take control in multiple manners, including, without 
                 limitation, through the use of the brake, the 
                 accelerator pedal, or the steering wheel, and alerts 
                 the operator that the autonomous technology has been 
                 disengaged; 

               B.     The autonomous vehicle's autonomous technology 
                 meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for the 
                 vehicle's model year and all other applicable safety 
                 standards and performance requirements set forth in 
                 state and federal law and the regulations 
                 promulgated pursuant to those laws; 

               C.     The autonomous technology does not make 
                 inoperative any Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
                 Standards for the vehicle's model year and all other 
                 applicable safety standards and performance 
                 requirements set forth in state and federal law and 
                 the regulations promulgated pursuant to those laws; 

               D.     The autonomous vehicle has a separate 
                 mechanism, in addition to and separate from any 
                 other mechanism required by law, to capture and 
                 store the autonomous technology sensor data for at 
                 least thirty seconds before a collision occurs 
                 between the autonomous vehicle and another vehicle, 

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                 object, or natural person while the vehicle is 
                 operating in autonomous mode. The autonomous 
                 technology sensor data must be captured and stored 
                 in a read-only format by the mechanism so that the 
                 data is retained until extracted from the mechanism 
                 by an external device capable of downloading and 
                 storing the data. Such data must be preserved for 
                 three years after the date of the collision; 

               E.     The manufacturer has tested the autonomous 
                 technology on public roads and complies with any DMV 
                 testing standards; 

               F.     The manufacturer will maintain a surety bond, 
                 or proof of self-insurance, in an amount of $5 
                 million per DMV regulations. 

            1.  Requires DMV, as soon as practicable but no later 
              than January 1, 2015, to adopt regulations setting 
              forth requirements for the submission of evidence of 
              required insurance, surety bond, or self-insurance and 
              approval of an application to operate an autonomous 
              vehicle. 

            2.  Requires the regulations to include any testing, 
              equipment and performance standards that DMV concludes 
              are necessary to ensure the safe operation of 
              autonomous vehicles on public roads with or without the 
              presence of a driver. 

            3.  Allows DMV, in developing these regulations, to 
              consult with the CHP, Institute of Transportation 
              Studies at the University of California, or any other 
              entity DMV identifies that has expertise in automotive 
              technology, automotive safety, and autonomous system 
              design. 

            4.  Allows DMV to establish additional requirements by 
              the adoption of regulations, which it determines, in 
              consultation with the CHP, are necessary to ensure the 
              safe operation of autonomous vehicles on public roads, 
              including, but not limited to, regulations regarding 
              the aggregate number of deployments of autonomous 
              vehicles on public roads, special rules for the 

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              registration of autonomous vehicles, new license 
              requirements for operators of autonomous vehicles, and 
              rules for the revocation, suspension, or denial of any 
              license or approval related to autonomous vehicles. 

            5.  Requires DMV to hold public hearings on the adoption 
              of any regulation applicable to the operation of an 
              autonomous vehicle without the presence of a driver 
              inside the vehicle. 

            6.  Requires DMV to approve an application submitted by a 
              manufacturer if it finds that the applicant has 
              submitted all information and completed testing to 
              satisfy DMV that the autonomous vehicles are safe to 
              operate on public roads and that the applicant has 
              complied with all of its regulations. 

            7.  Specifies, if the application seeks approval for 
              autonomous vehicles capable of operating without the 
              presence of a driver inside the vehicle, that the 
              department may impose additional requirements it deems 
              necessary to ensure the safe operation of those 
              vehicles, and may require the presence of a driver in 
              the driver's seat of the vehicle if it determines, 
              based on its review of the testing conducted by the 
              manufacturer, that such a requirement is necessary to 
              ensure the safe operation of those vehicles on public 
              roads. 

            8.  Requires DMV to notify the Legislature of the receipt 
              of an application from a manufacturer seeking approval 
              to operate an autonomous vehicle capable of operating 
              without the presence of a driver inside the vehicle and 
              approval of the application. Approval of the 
              application shall be effective no sooner than 180 days 
              after the date the application is submitted. 

            9.  Allows DMV to establish additional requirements by 
              rule which it determines, in consultation with the CHP, 
              are necessary to ensure the safe operation of 
              autonomous vehicles on public roads. 

            10. Provides that this bill does not limit or expand the 
              existing authority to operate autonomous vehicles on 

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              public roads, until 120 days after DMV adopts those 
              regulations. 

            11. Provides that federal regulations promulgated by the 
              National Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will 
              supersede this bill's provisions when found to be in 
              conflict with them. 

            12. Requires the manufacturer of autonomous technology 
              installed on a vehicle to provide a written disclosure 
              to the purchaser of an autonomous vehicle that 
              describes what information is collected by the 
              autonomous technology equipped on the vehicle. 

            13. Allows DMV to promulgate regulations to assess a fee 
              upon manufacturers that submit applications to operate 
              autonomous vehicles on public roads in an amount 
              necessary to recover all the costs it reasonably 
              incurs. 

           Comments

           The author states that despite the many safety improvements 
          to the automobile since its invention, auto accidents 
          remain a leading cause of death.  The Centers for Disease 
          Control (CDC) report that motor vehicle crashes are the 
          leading cause of death among people 5 through 34 years old. 
           In 2009, more than 2.3 million adult drivers and 
          passengers were treated in emergency rooms as the result of 
          being injured in motor vehicle crashes nationwide. 

          According to NHTSA, in 2010, a total of 32,885 people died 
          in the United States in car accidents.  More than 2,700 of 
          these traffic fatalities were here in California.  Car 
          accidents also result in a significant economic impact.  A 
          2005 CDC report found that the lifetime cost of 
          crash-related deaths and injuries among drivers and 
          passengers was $70 billion.

          The author states that the vast majority of traffic 
          fatalities and injuries are due to human error, noting that 
          a 2006 U.S. Department of Transportation study found that 
          some form of driver error occurred in nearly 80% of car 
          accidents.  The author asserts that through the use of 

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          computers, sensors and other systems, an autonomous vehicle 
          is capable of analyzing the driving environment more 
          quickly and operating the vehicle more safely than a human 
          being.  

          The author introduced this bill to enable California to 
          join other states in establishing safe testing and 
          operation standards for autonomous vehicles.  Last year, 
          the Governor of Nevada signed a similar bill into law.  In 
          addition, Florida, Hawaii, Oklahoma, and Arizona are all 
          currently considering autonomous vehicle legislation.  The 
          author and supporters note that as a global technology 
          leader, California is uniquely positioned to be the leader 
          in the deployment of autonomous technology and the 
          manufacture of autonomous vehicles.  The author states that 
          this technology will not only save lives, it will create 
          jobs.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/17/12) (unable to reverify to time 
          of writing)

          Automobile Club of Southern California
          California Foundation for Independent Living Centers
          Google
          TechAmerica
          TechNet


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  51-25, 8/24/12
          AYES:  Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block, 
            Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, 
            Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, 
            Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, 
            Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, 
            Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara, Bonnie 
            Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan, Perea, V. 
            Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, 
            Torres, Wieckowski, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NOES:  Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Donnelly, Beth 
            Gaines, Garrick, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, 
            Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, 

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            Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Cook, Halderman, Roger Hernández, 
            Williams


          JJA:nm   8/28/12   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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