THE BUZZ: HAZARD AHEAD — Robotaxis have finally made it to the streets of Los Angeles, but the fight over control is just beginning. Google’s autonomous vehicle offshoot Waymo deployed a fleet of self-driving cars into the streets of LA on Thursday, offering free rides to anyone in a 63-square mile area spanning from Santa Monica to downtown, with plans to launch a paid service in the near future. The company said it had 50,000 people itching for a ride on their waitlist, but the reception has been far colder from public officials. Labor and state lawmakers want to give LA and other cities the power to reject the deployment of autonomous vehicles on their streets. State agencies — including the Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Public Utilities Commission — have been slow to address the concerns of state and county officials, who complain of robotaxis blocking emergency vehicles and running over pedestrians. Even after the DMV yanked the permit for Cruise, a subsidiary of GM, for withholding information about a crash, the state continued to allow other operators to expand. Just two weeks ago, the PUC approved Waymo’s venture into Los Angeles, despite Mayor Karen Bass telling the commission late last year that she had “serious concerns” about autonomous vehicles on city streets. Lawmakers in Sacramento have taken notice of the power imbalance and are looking to end the state’s exclusive authority over autonomous vehicles and demand more accountability from the AV companies. State Sen. Dave Cortese is championing a bill, backed by the powerful Teamsters Union, to grant local authorities the same oversight between driverless and traditional vehicles, allowing them to impose conditions or outright reject autonomous vehicles by requiring local ordinances to be in place before deployment. Local governments are lining up behind Cortese’s proposal — Oakland and the counties of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Mateo have recently approved resolutions backing the legislation, according to Cortese’s office. Seven LA City Council members have put forward a measure to back it, and LA-area Rep. Adam Schiff, the leading candidate for the late Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat, has also endorsed it. Another bill proposed by San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney, also backed by the Teamsters, would require AV companies to publicly report traffic violations, assaults, or harassment involving their vehicles to the DMV, in addition to collisions and disengagement events, which the DMV already requires. The two bills have fair odds of getting through the Democratic Legislature — which this year has a strong appetite for regulating artificial intelligence. Proponents would also need to persuade Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has sided with Silicon Valley in the past. Last year the governor rejected a Teamsters bill that would have required human safety drivers in heavy duty autonomous vehicles, arguing that existing law is sufficient for regulating AVs and that he trusts the DMV to oversee their safe operation. We’re watching closely to see if Newsom sticks with one of his favorite adages — “localism is determinative” — or stands behind the tech industry. — with help from Jeremy B. White GOOD MORNING. Happy Friday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. Now you can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts now. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced. Likely prepping for his State of the State speech on Monday afternoon.
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