California AB 316: Veto, AB 2286, and DMV Rulemaking

California Assembly Bill 316 was a 2023 bill that would have required a trained human safety operator inside every autonomous truck over 10,001 pounds operating on the state’s public roads. It passed both chambers by lopsided margins, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed it on September 22, 2023, and regulation of driverless heavy-duty trucks was left to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.¹

What the Bill Would Have Required

AB 316’s central rule was simple. No autonomous vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of 10,001 pounds or more could operate on a public road without a human safety operator physically in the cab. The restriction applied to testing, freight hauling, and passenger service alike.²

A qualifying safety operator had to be trained to operate and shut down the vehicle and hold every federal and state qualification that vehicle type demands.³ For a Class 8 semi, that meant a licensed commercial driver riding along no matter how capable the self-driving system was.

The requirement was not meant to be permanent. AB 316 directed the DMV to report to the legislature on autonomous vehicle performance, public safety, and employment effects by January 1, 2029, or five years after testing began, whichever came later.² Only after that report, and an oversight hearing, could the in-cab mandate be lifted.

Which Trucks It Covered

The 10,001-pound gross vehicle weight line captured the Class 8 tractor-trailers that handle most long-haul freight along with other heavy commercial vehicles.² Passenger cars, small delivery vans, and robotaxis sat below the threshold and would have stayed under the DMV’s existing light-duty autonomous vehicle rules.

The Vote and the Veto

AB 316 cleared the Assembly 69–4 and the Senate 36–2, drawing strong bipartisan support along with heavy backing from labor unions, trucking workers, and highway safety groups.⁴

Newsom vetoed it anyway. His veto message called the bill “unnecessary for the regulation and oversight of heavy-duty autonomous vehicle technology in California” and said the DMV already has the authority it needs. He noted that the legislature granted the DMV broad regulatory power over autonomous vehicles in 2012, and that the department “continuously monitors the testing and operations of autonomous vehicles on California roads and has the authority to suspend or revoke permits as necessary to protect the public’s safety.”¹

The practical effect: no guaranteed seat for a human driver, and no legislative lock on how far the DMV can let driverless trucks go.

The 2024 Follow-Up: AB 2286

Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who authored AB 316, returned the next session with Assembly Bill 2286. It kept the same human-operator mandate for trucks over 10,001 pounds and added more.⁵

Under AB 2286, manufacturers would have to report any collision involving a permitted autonomous truck to the DMV within 10 days and file annual disengagement reports for heavy-duty vehicles. The DMV evaluation deadline shifted to January 1, 2030. The bill also blocked the DMV from issuing a deployment permit for driverless heavy trucks without express authorization from both the legislature and the governor, meaning a second vote before any fully driverless truck could haul freight commercially.⁵

AB 2286 was enrolled and sent to the governor on September 3, 2024. The DMV is now proceeding with its own rulemaking rather than implementing a legislative mandate, so the bill does not appear to have been signed into law.

What Actually Regulates Driverless Trucks Today

With both bills off the table, the governing statute is California Vehicle Code Section 38750, enacted in 2012 through Senate Bill 1298.⁶ It gives the DMV authority to set testing and performance standards for autonomous vehicles with or without a human driver on board, cap the number of vehicles deployed, create special registration and operator licensing rules, and suspend or revoke permits.⁷ The fight between the legislature and the governor was never really about whether heavy autonomous trucks should be regulated; it was about who writes the rules.

The DMV’s Current Rulemaking

As of early 2026, the DMV is in formal rulemaking to update its autonomous vehicle regulations, with the public comment period running through February 2026.⁸ The proposed rules cover both light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles, and for the first time, trucks over 10,001 pounds can be tested on public roads under a DMV-approved permit.⁹

The framework is phased. Companies start with testing permits, demonstrate safe performance, then apply for deployment permits that allow commercial operation. Manufacturers submit safety cases for DMV review, and the department may bring in outside technical experts before approving deployment.

Insurance and Permit Costs

Any company testing or deploying an autonomous vehicle in California must carry $5 million in financial responsibility through insurance, a surety bond, or self-insurance.⁷ That floor applies during both testing and public operation.¹⁰

A manufacturer’s testing permit carries a $3,600 nonrefundable application fee covering up to 10 vehicles and 20 drivers or operators, with biennial renewal at the same $3,600.¹¹ Permit holders file annual disengagement reports showing how often their vehicles dropped out of autonomous mode during testing.

Where Federal Law Pushes Back

California’s rules sit under a federal ceiling. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has said its existing regulations “do not explicitly require human operators or drivers” and that it reads “driver” and “operator” to include automated systems. For trucks running Level 4 or Level 5 systems within their designed conditions, FMCSA does not require anyone on board.¹²

The agency has also said it “discourages States from adopting more stringent rules concerning ADS, which could interfere with interstate commerce.”¹² Had AB 316 become law, a mandate requiring a human in every interstate truck could have faced a federal preemption challenge on that ground.

Where Things Stand

The underlying dispute is unresolved. The legislature has twice passed a bill requiring a human in the cab of a heavy autonomous truck. The governor has blocked both. The DMV is now writing the rules that will decide whether fully driverless heavy trucks can run commercially in California, and under what safety, reporting, and permitting conditions. The public comment window on the latest proposal runs into early 2026, and whatever comes out of that process, rather than any version of AB 316, is what will govern the next phase.⁸

1
Office of the Governor. Veto Message – Assembly Bill 316
2
California Legislative Information. California Assembly Bill 316
3
California State Assembly. AB 316 Analysis – Vehicles: Autonomous Vehicles
4
California Legislative Information. California Assembly Bill 316 – Bill Votes
5
California Legislative Information. California Assembly Bill 2286
6
California Legislative Information. California Senate Bill 1298 – Autonomous Vehicles
7
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 38750
8
California Department of Motor Vehicles. California Autonomous Vehicle Regulations
9
California DMV. California DMV Releases Updated Autonomous Vehicle Regulations
10
California Department of Insurance. Autonomous Vehicle Briefing Paper
11
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program for Manufacturers
12
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Safe Integration of Automated Driving Systems-Equipped Commercial Motor Vehicles