BILL NUMBER: AB 819AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 6, 2012 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 8, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 11, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2011 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wieckowski FEBRUARY 17, 2011 An act to amend Section 891 of , and to add and repeal Section 891.1 of, the Streets and Highways Code, relating to bikeways. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 819, as amended, Wieckowski. Bikeways. Existing law requires the Department of Transportation, in cooperation with county and city governments, to establish minimum safety design criteria for the planning and construction of bikeways, and authorizes cities, counties, and local agencies to establish bikeways. Existing law requires all city, county, regional, and other local agencies responsible for the development or operation of bikeways or roadways where bicycle travel is permitted to utilize all minimum safety design criteria and uniform specifications and symbols for signs, markers, and traffic control devices established pursuant to specified provisions of existing law. This bill would require the department to establish , by January 1, 2013, procedures for cities, counties, and local agencies to be granted exceptions from the requirement to use those criteria and specifications for purposes of research, experimentation, testing, evaluation, or verification. The bill would require the department, by April 1, 2014, to report to the transportation policy committees of both houses of the Legislature the steps that the department has taken during the 2013 calendar year to implement those requirements, including, but not limited to, information regarding requests received and granted by the department for those exceptions, and the reasons the department rejected any requests for those exceptions. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 891 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended to read: 891. (a) All city, county, regional, and other local agencies responsible for the development or operation of bikeways or roadways where bicycle travel is permitted shall utilize all minimum safety design criteria and uniform specifications and symbols for signs, markers, and traffic control devices established pursuant to Sections 890.6 and 890.8, except as provided in subdivision (b). (b) The department , by January 1, 2013, shall establish procedures to permit exceptions to the requirements of subdivision (a) for purposes of research, experimentation, testing, evaluation, or verification. SEC. 2. Section 891.1 is added to the Streets and Highways Code , to read: 891.1. (a) The department shall, by April 1, 2014, submit a report to the transportation policy committees of both houses of the Legislature that describes the steps the department has taken to implement the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 891 related to permitting exceptions to the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 891. The report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (1) The number of requests the department has received from cities, counties, and local agencies during the 2013 calendar year. (2) The number of exceptions the department granted during that year. (3) If any requests were rejected, the reasons why those requests were not approved. (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2015, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends that date.