Two pretty bad bills in Sacramento

Sacramento is primarily a place where bad ideas flourish and become law. But, every now and then, common sense slips through. Here’s a look at some legislative proposals that remain in play in the state Legislature.

Assembly Bill 2286

This proposal, introduced by Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, is Sacramento’s latest effort to undermine autonomous vehicle technologies.

The bill requires a driver to be on board vehicles greater than 10,001 pounds and instructs the DMV to produce a report on autonomous vehicles.

It also “Prohibits the DMV from issuing a deployment permit for AVs with a GVW of greater than 10,001 pounds without a human safety operator earlier than one year after the Legislative hearing and only after express authorization of the Legislature and the Governor.”

Talk about red tape.

What’s the point of all of this? It’s simple. Labor unions fear that autonomous trucks will soon be a viable means of transporting goods around the Golden State. Accordingly, they want to throw as many unnecessary hoops in the way as possible.

The state is capable of developing regulations and ensuring such technology is safely being deployed on California roads. If there’s anything California is in no short supply of, it’s red tape.

This was something even Gov. Gavin Newsom recognized last year when he vetoed a very similar piece of legislation. He wrote: “Assembly Bill 316 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.”

Yet here the Legislature is pushing the same thing again. It should be rejected.

Senate Bill 549

This proposal, introduced by Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, would make it easier for California’s Indian tribes to take California cardrooms to court.

The politics here are fairly simple.

The tribes want full control over California’s lucrative gambling markets. There’s a lot of money at stake, after all. On the other side are cardroom operators and local governments which benefit from the revenue generated by cardrooms.

Caught in the middle of this are California adults who just want to play some card games.

As noted by the California Gaming Association, “Cardrooms are already subject to strict regulatory oversight. Businesses and personnel must obtain licenses and approvals from the California Gambling Control Commission (Commission) and the Bureau of Gambling Control (Bureau) within the Department of Justice. Extensive regulations govern their operations.”

That’s more than enough oversight.

SB 549 should be set aside. California has enough actual problems to deal with. This bill will only throw local government budgets into uncertainty and make a mockery of our judicial system.

Weaponizing the legislative process so one special interest group can try to drive out perceived competition is silly on its face.