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California 20252026

AB 1976

Streets and highways: pedestrian and bicycle facilities.

Open original source Back to bills
Source: Open States / PluralUpdated 2026-09-12 13:12:55 UTC.

Official record

Measure details

Jurisdiction
California
Session
20252026
Chamber
lower
Classification
bill
Subjects
Streetsandhighways, pedestrianandbicyclefacilities
Introduced / first action
2026-02-13 00:00:00

Alternate titles

  • Street closures: school grounds.

Source-supplied abstracts

(1) Existing law grants the legislative body of a city certain powers with respect to city streets and highways, including the power to construct and maintain those streets and highways. Existing law grants the board of supervisors of a county general supervision, management, and control of county highways and authorizes the board of supervisors to lay out, construct, improve, and maintain county highways. This bill would prohibit a city or county from holding a community input meeting to reconsider, delay, or prevent implementation of a proposed pedestrian or bicycle safety project after that project has passed 90% design, as specified. After or upon the award of a contract for, or when county or city staff, as applicable, are directed to begin, the construction of a pedestrian or bicycle safety project, the bill would prohibit the city or county from terminating the project unless the city or county makes at least one specified finding at a public meeting. If a city or county establishes a process for residents of the city or county to submit a petition to request the installation of a traffic-calming measure, the bill would prohibit the city or county from requiring the petition to contain the signatures of more than a majority of the total number of persons whose residences are located, in whole or in part, within 1,000 feet of the proposed traffic-calming measure, as specified. To the extent that the bill increases the duties of local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law, the Pedestrian Mall Law of 1960, authorizes the legislative body of a city or county to establish a pedestrian mall, as defined, and prohibit vehicular traffic on the mall, upon adoption of an ordinance establishing the mall. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA, until January 1, 2040, exempts from its requirements certain transportation-related projects, including, among others, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, as specified. CEQA requires, except as provided, those exempted projects to be carried out by a local agency and meet certain requirements, including certain labor requirements. This bill would exempt from the requirements of CEQA the establishment or expansion of a pedestrian mall and would require those projects to comply with the above-described requirements applicable to those exempted CEQA projects. (3) The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. (4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Sponsors

Source-supplied history

Actions

  1. Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 53. Noes 19.).

    amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable

  2. In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.

  3. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 29. Noes 10.).

    passage, reading-1, reading-3

  4. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1, reading-2, reading-3

  5. Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

    amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2, reading-3

  6. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1, reading-2, reading-3

  7. From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.

    committee-passage, reading-1, reading-2

  8. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (July 1). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee

  9. Referred to Com. on E.Q.

    referral-committee

  10. Withdrawn from committee.

    withdrawal

  11. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on TRANS.

    committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee

  12. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

    amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee

  13. Referred to Coms. on L. GOV., TRANS. and E.Q.

    referral-committee

  14. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

    reading-1, referral-committee

  15. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 49. Noes 19. Page 5521.)

    passage, reading-1, reading-3

  16. Read third time and amended. Ordered to third reading. (Page 5242.)

    amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-3

  17. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1, reading-2, reading-3

  18. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 4.) (May 13).

    committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable

  19. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    referral-committee

  20. Read second time and amended.

    amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2

  21. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 2.) (April 22).

    amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage, referral-committee

  22. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. (Ayes 12. Noes 4.) (April 20). Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

    committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee

  23. (Pending re-refer to Com. on L. GOV.)

    referral-committee

  24. Assembly Rule 56 suspended. (Page 4580.)

  25. Re-referred to Com. on TRANS.

    referral-committee

  26. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. Read second time and amended.

    amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee

  27. In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

  28. Re-referred to Com. on TRANS.

    referral-committee

  29. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. Read second time and amended.

    amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee

  30. Referred to Coms. on TRANS. and L. GOV.

    referral-committee

  31. From printer. May be heard in committee March 16.

  32. Read first time. To print.

    reading-1

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