The 2026 legislative session was gaveled to a close last night. What legislation is awaiting final approval from Governor Gavin Newsom and what failed to make it this year? The answers are below.
Newsom has a dozen days to sign or veto legislation that was passed by the legislature as legislation is passed during the session. However, any legislation he has not taken action on by September 1, today, he has until September 30 to decide whether or not the legislation becomes law. Every piece of legislation Streetsblog has tracked that was passed by the legislature has until September 30 to become law.
There were two “trailer bills” that Streetsblog was following. Trailer bills circumvent the legislative process, they don’t require committee hearings and need to be introduced only 72 hours before a final vote. They are introduced by either party leadership or the governor’s office and are usually reserved for emergencies.
This time, they were not reserved for emergencies, but for special interests.
The first piece trailer bill, covered in Santa Monica Next, would have allowed one very specific housing project an exemption from Coastal Commission permitting. Whether the project was getting special consideration because it had already been approved by Santa Monica and the Commission but the permits expired or because the developer had given $274,000 to Newsom’s campaigns is unknown. However, the trailer was pulled over the weekend.
The second trailer was to, in the official Assembly summary of the legislation, “Prohibits reducing vehicle lanes on a road serving two cemeteries in a city exceeding two million people unless specified public hearing, voting, and finding and declaration requirements are met.” This description fits one street in the entire state: Forest Lawn Drive in Los Angeles. This trailer is a political hot potato, as the fate of the Forest Lawn Drive safety project has become a major issue in the mayor’s race. Streetsblog Los Angeles explains:
Many Streetsblog readers are familiar with recent disputes over the city’s planned Forest Lawn Drive safety improvements. Briefly, in 2023, the city Transportation Department (LADOT) and City Councilmember Nithya Raman announced plans to reconfigure Forest Lawn Drive, making it safer for both drivers and bicyclists. Forest Lawn and Mount Sinai cemeteries strongly opposed the project. The project was delayed, but was nonetheless ready to be installed this summer, until it was paused by Mayor Karen Bass.
This trailer bill passed both houses.
Now, for the regular legislation.
Legislation That Cleared the Legislature
Assembly Bill 1546, Driving under the influence, would increase penalties for repeat DUI offenders to bring California law more in line with other states.
Assembly Bill 1599: Public transit: California Transit Stop Registry: transit datasets, would create a statewide unique identifier for every transit stop. Streetsblog discussed this legislation in episode 14.1 of StreetSmart and it was co-sponsored by Move California.
Assembly Bill 1740, Coastal resources: coastal development permits: urban multimodal communities: bicycle facilities, has been heavily amended since it was first introduced to now provide a specific timeline for Santa Monica to receive certification of its Coastal Plan from the Coastal Commission. Streetsblog covered this legislation when it was introduced and after it was amended.
This legislation passed both houses…but that wasn’t the end of the excitement. As noted above, a trailer bill was introduced that many saw as an offshoot of this legislation – then it was withdrawn.
Assembly Bill 1837, Video imaging of parking violations, would make transit lane and bus stop camera enforcement permanent statewide.
Assembly Bill 1976, Streets and highways: pedestrian and bicycle facilities, is a wide-ranging California Assembly bill aimed at streamlining the planning, construction, and protection of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure across the state.
Streetsblog wrote about this legislation as it was moving in the Assembly.
Assembly Bill 2015, Navigation programs: slow streets, would help cities “keep slow streets slow” by stopping navigation apps from routing cut-through traffic onto neighborhood streets designed for local access, walking, and biking.
Assembly Bill 2168, Active Transportation Program: guidelines, would include transit-rich and infill opportunity areas as a program priority, prioritize the leveraging of more state transportation funding to the ATP, and mandate the implementation of penalties for applicants who do not use previously allocated program funds promptly.
Senate Bill 677, Housing development: transit-oriented development, aims to strengthen California’s transit-oriented housing laws by closing loopholes used by cities to evade development requirements. The bill expands definitions to include high-frequency ferry service and reinforces mandates for building housing near major transit stops.
This legislation is related to Senate Bill 79 that was extensively covered last year. Streetsblog covered SB 677 in an article about Los Angeles Metro’s attempts to avoid enforcing SB 79.
Senate Bill 1167, Vehicles: Electric Bicycles, seeks to define the differences between e-bikes and e-motorcycles (e-motos). Streetsblog discussed this legislation in episode 14.1 of StreetSmart and when it passed the full Senate.
Senate Bill 1423, Transportation funding: State Transportation Improvement Program: Active Transportation Program would steer half of STIP funds toward projects that make streets safer for people walking, biking, and taking transit, while also making the state’s top safe streets grant program easier for cities to access.
Legislation That Did Not
Assembly Bill 1557, Vehicles: Electric Bicycles, would have limited the motor output of e-bikes sold in the state to a maximum of 750 watts, aligning with existing federal e-bike definitions. Streetsblog covered the introduction of this legislation. The legislation did not clear the Assembly.
Assembly Bill 1833, Consumer Driving Data Protection Act of 2026, would have allowed drivers to voluntarily opt into insurance telematics with privacy protections. This legislation did not pass the Assembly.
Assembly Bill 1942, the E-Bike Accountability Act, would have required owners of Class 2 and Class 3 electric bicycles to register those bikes with the California Department of Motor Vehicles and display a special license plate issued by the DMV.
Streetsblog covered this legislation twice, both when it was introduced and the backlash from advocacy groups. This legislation did not pass the Assembly.
Assembly Bill 2276, The Stop Super Speeders Act, would create a statewide pilot program requiring reckless and excessive speed offenders to install active intelligent speed assistance (ISA) devices in their vehicles as a condition of regaining driving privileges. Streetsblog covered this legislation when it was introduced.
This legislation did not pass the Assembly, much to the consternation of safety advocates.
Assembly Bill 2284, Electric bicycles: Attorney General list, would require CHP to publish a list of devices marketed as e-bikes that are not actually legal e-bikes. The legislation was assigned to the Transportation Committee.
This legislation did not pass the Assembly and never even received a committee vote.
Senate Bill 1035, Motor vehicle fuel tax: greenhouse gas reduction programs: suspension, would suspend the state gas tax and other fuel charges for one year. Streetsblog covered this legislation when it was introduced and critiqued it in a short video.
This legislation was defeated in committee and never received a floor vote.
Senate Bill 1411, Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund funding conditions for high-speed rail, would have lifted restrictions limiting high-speed rail spending to the Merced–Bakersfield segment. That could accelerate work in Southern California or toward the Bay Area. Streetsblog discussed this legislation in episode 14.2 of StreetSmart.
This legislation did not pass the Assembly.
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