CaliforniaCities and counties face limits on delaying walking and biking safety projects
Cities and counties must follow new limits on late project meetings and cancellations, and cap petition signatures when they offer a traffic-calming request process.
What it does
After a city or county safety project passes 90 percent design, the agency may not hold a community input meeting to reconsider, delay, or prevent it. Meetings on details that do not change the project's purpose are still allowed.
Once a city or county awards a construction contract or directs staff to begin work, it may cancel or materially delay a walking or biking safety project only after making a required finding in public.
If a city or county accepts resident petitions for traffic-calming measures, it may require signatures from no more than a majority of people living within 1,000 feet of the proposed measure.
Projects that establish or expand a pedestrian mall are exempt from CEQA review if they meet requirements for exempt transportation projects, including limits on added vehicle trips and highway capacity.
Argument forPeople who walk or bike could see safety projects move ahead with fewer late delays, while nearby residents can still petition for traffic-calming measures.
Argument againstCities and counties might have less room to respond to changing budgets or public needs after work starts, because stopping a project requires a public finding supported by evidence.
More detail
Cities and counties may not hold a community input meeting to reconsider, delay, or prevent a safety project after it passes 90 percent design. This covers city projects on streets or highways and county projects on county highways that aim to improve safety, access, or mobility for people walking or biking. Meetings may still address design features, appearance, and details that do not materially change the project's purpose. This rule does not limit public participation required by other laws, including federal rules or funding requirements. The limit applies after the agency determines, using engineering standards, that the project has passed 90 percent design.
Cities and counties may not cancel or materially delay a covered safety project after contracting for construction or directing staff to begin work unless they make a required finding at a public meeting. This covers city projects on streets or highways and county projects on county highways intended to improve safety, access, or mobility for people walking or biking. The public record must show either that specific, identifiable public benefits of not delivering the project outweigh its safety benefit, or that the project cannot be funded within the agency's or project's budget. Temporary removal for construction, removing a quick-build or pilot project, upgrading a bikeway, work that keeps a bikeway's class, and emergency removal are excluded from termination. The restriction applies after or upon the award of a construction contract, or when the agency directs staff to begin construction.
Cities and counties with a resident petition process for traffic-calming measures may not require signatures from more than a majority of nearby residents. Nearby residents are people whose homes are wholly or partly within 1,000 feet of the proposed measure. This limit applies only if the city or county has a process for residents to petition for a traffic-calming measure. The area is measured along the centerline of a street or highway, or connected streets or highways.
Establishing or expanding a pedestrian mall is exempt from CEQA review, subject to requirements for exempt transportation projects. This covers projects to establish or expand a pedestrian mall. The project must meet applicable requirements, including local agency approval and limits on added vehicle trips and highway capacity. Added public meeting and analysis rules apply above specified project cost thresholds; workforce rules also apply, with stated exceptions.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Sep 27Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 565, Statutes of 2026.Latest
- Sep 27Approved by the Governor Gavin Newsom.Became Law
- Sep 14Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 1:30 p.m.To Governor
- Sep 1
- Vote recorded AB 1976 Wicks Concurrence in Senate Amendments. Result: pass.Lower
- Aug 31Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 53. Noes 19. Page 7047.).Major
- Aug 31In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
- Aug 30Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 29. Noes 10.).Passed Senate
- Vote recorded 3rd Reading AB1976 Wicks By Blakespear. Result: pass.Upper
- Aug 24Read second time. Ordered to third reading.Minor
- Aug 21Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.Major
- Aug 4Read second time. Ordered to third reading.Minor
- Aug 3From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.Minor
- Jul 2From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (July 1). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.Minor
- Jul 1
- Vote recorded Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]. Result: pass.Upper
- Jun 24Referred to Com. on E.Q.Minor
- Jun 24Withdrawn from committee.Major
- Jun 23From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on TRANS.Minor
- Vote recorded Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Transportation]. Result: pass.Upper
- Jun 17From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.Major
- Jun 10Referred to Coms. on L. GOV., TRANS. and E.Q.Minor
- Jun 1In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.Minor
- May 28Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 49. Noes 19. Page 5521.)Passed Assembly
- Vote recorded AB 1976 Wicks Assembly Third Reading. Result: pass.Lower
- May 21Read third time and amended. Ordered to third reading. (Page 5242.)Major
- May 14Read second time. Ordered to third reading.Minor
- May 13From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 11. Noes 4.) (May 13).Minor
- Vote recorded Do pass. Result: pass.Lower
- Apr 28Re-referred to Com. on APPR.Minor
- Apr 27Read second time and amended.Major
- Apr 23From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 2.) (April 22).Major
- Apr 22
- Vote recorded Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]. Result: pass.Lower
- Apr 21From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. (Ayes 12. Noes 4.) (April 20). Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.Minor
- Apr 20
- Vote recorded Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Local Government]. Result: pass.Lower
- Apr 13(Pending re-refer to Com. on L. GOV.)Minor
- Apr 13Assembly Rule 56 suspended. (Page 4580.)
- Apr 13Re-referred to Com. on TRANS.Minor
- Apr 9From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. Read second time and amended.Major
- Apr 6In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.
- Mar 23Re-referred to Com. on TRANS.Minor
- Mar 19From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. Read second time and amended.Major
- Mar 19Referred to Coms. on TRANS. and L. GOV.Minor
- Feb 14From printer. May be heard in committee March 16.
- Feb 13Read first time. To print.Introduced
TransportationPublic SafetyEnvironment & Energy