A California state senator from the South Bay and union leaders are making a strong push against autonomous vehicle testing with a proposed bill that calls for local communities to have more control and oversight.
The group backing the proposal says the state allowed autonomous vehicle companies to test their vehicles in local communities without any local say.
At a news conference Friday morning in Los Angeles, state Sen. Dave Cortese, a former Santa Clara County supervisor who represents part of the South Bay, stood with Teamsters union members and other community organizations to say robotaxis risk safety and jobs.
"In cities like L.A. and S.F. it’s becoming common to glance over as you’re stepping off a sidewalk and see a moving car without a driver in it, and it’s unnerving for people, and it should be," said Cortese, who represents District 15. "Local traffic control has always been the jurisdiction for local governments. It’s not a patchwork system."
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Teamsters International Vice President Christopher Griswold added: "We need to stand up against the big tech companies. Residents of California should not be lab rats for Big Tech and Wall Street."
The Autonomous Vehicle Service Deployment and Data Transparency Act calls for local permitting and enforcements -- and for allowing local communities to decide what the fares should be and how many driverless vehicles that community should have.
Backers also want regular inspection of those driverless vehicles.
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The California Public Utilites Commission and the DMV are the current regulating agencies.
The push for regulation comes as Waymo, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet Inc., seeks to expand service beyond San Francisco into San Mateo County.
