CA SB1246: Autonomous vehicles.

In one paragraph

California's SB 1246 adds duties for autonomous vehicle manufacturers from July 1, 2028. Remote drivers must be in the U.S. and hold a license valid in California, of the right class. Manufacturers must keep enough communications capacity for remote support, immediately dispatch local incident technicians when a crash or incident immobilizes a vehicle or blocks traffic or when officials ask, alert local jurisdictions in fleetwide failures, acknowledge geofencing messages within two minutes, and report response data to the DMV quarterly. Cities and counties may seek penalties up to $5,000 or $10,000. Signed September 30, 2026 (Chapter 1021); effective January 1, 2027, operative July 1, 2028.

Plain-English summary, written with AI assistance. The official text controls.

What it means for business

AV manufacturers, from July 1, 2028: U.S.-based remote drivers with licenses valid in California, local incident technicians on immediate call, enough remote-support capacity, quarterly response data to the DMV, and remote neutral/move/shut-off for commercial AVs without manual controls.

Key provisions

1. 1New Vehicle Code § 38754: a remote driver (a person outside the driver's seat performing real-time dynamic driving task fallback, such as braking, steering and acceleration) must be located in the United States and hold a driver's license valid in California, of the appropriate class, with any required endorsements
2. 2Rewritten § 38751 for driverless manufacturers keeps the emergency hotline answered within 30 seconds, two-way vehicle communication devices and emergency geofencing (fleet directed to leave within two minutes), and adds communications capacity for the maximum concurrent remote assistance or teleoperation sessions, staffing so remote staff respond immediately, and acknowledgment of geofencing messages within two minutes
3. 3Local incident technicians (employees of the manufacturer or of a contractor that employs at least 50 technicians or uses a tow operator with a public towing arrangement) must be dispatched immediately after a crash or incident that immobilizes a vehicle, obstructs traffic or emergency access or creates a hazard, or on request of an emergency response official (now including traffic and parking enforcement personnel) or 911 center; they must have the authority and ability to coordinate with officials and manually relocate or tow the vehicle (§ 38801)
4. 4In a fleetwide emergency or system failure (shared software, communications or navigation problems immobilizing many vehicles), manufacturers must immediately notify affected local jurisdictions, including emergency dispatch, and deploy technicians where vehicles cannot be remotely recovered; the DMV must adopt technician response-time guidelines by July 1, 2028
5. 5Commercial AVs without manual controls: remote assistants or drivers must be able to put the vehicle in neutral, move it as an official directs or turn it off; if it cannot be relocated, a technician or tow operator must be dispatched; the DMV may not permit deployment of noncompliant vehicles (§ 38803)
6. 6Manufacturers keep records on technician response times, fleetwide failures, immobilizations, obstructions, crashes and responder requests and give them to the DMV quarterly; the DMV publishes summary statistics by manufacturer and may share records with the CPUC. POST certifies manufacturers' manual-override training (fees allowed) and sets up voluntary officer training
7. 7A violation is not a crime; city attorneys and county counsel may sue for civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation of § 38801 and up to $10,000 per commercial AV that obstructs or interferes with emergency or law enforcement operations for more than 30 minutes after an official requests a technician
8. 8Signed September 30, 2026 (Chapter 1021, Statutes of 2026); effective January 1, 2027; the new duties become operative July 1, 2028

Latest legislative action

Sep 30, 2026. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 1021, Statutes of 2026.

Sponsors (showing 5 of 32)