Agenda Item: 3
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
CONSENT CALENDAR
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: March 25, 2025
SUBJECT: STATE LEGISLATION: AB 271, AB 875, AB 1022, SB 264, and SB 265
DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office
PRESENTER: Masis Hagobian
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Support AB 271 (Hoover), AB 875 (Muratsuchi), SB 264 (Valladares), and SB 265 (Valladares).
2. Oppose AB 1022 (Kalra).
3. Transmit position statements to the authors of the bills, Santa Clarita’s state legislative delegation, appropriate legislative committees, Governor Newsom, and other stakeholder organizations.
BACKGROUND
The following state legislative items were presented to the City Council Legislative Committee on March 5, 2025. Included as part of this report is a brief summary of each piece of legislation and its current status in the state legislative process. The state legislative items in this report are related to public safety, specifically, crimes committed during emergencies and traffic safety.
Crimes Committed During Emergencies
During and following the Palisades and Eaton Fires, there were several reports of looting of homes that were affected by the wildfires. To a lesser degree, reports of individuals impersonating firefighters were also made, as some looters attempted to gain access to homes by disguising themselves as first responders.
Under existing California law, looting is punishable as a misdemeanor or felony, depending on
the crime’s severity. Additionally, impersonating a peace officer, firefighter, or government employee is currently a misdemeanor, resulting in a 90-day sentence in a county jail.
The following three bills make changes related to looting or impersonating a first responder during an emergency or evacuation order.
Assembly Bill 271
Introduced by Assembly Member Josh Hoover (R-7-Folsom), Assembly Bill 271 makes burglary within an area under a county or local state of emergency or an evacuation order, also known as looting, punishable as a felony. Additionally, this legislation imposes a two-year sentence enhancement for those who impersonate a government employee or first responder during the act of looting.
Senate Bill 264
Introduced by Senator Suzette Valladares (R-23-Santa Clarita), Senate Bill 264 makes impersonating a first responder or member of the Office of the State Fire Marshal during a state of emergency or local emergency punishable as either a misdemeanor or a felony, giving law enforcement agencies and local prosecutorial officials the discretion to pursue charges greater than a misdemeanor.
Senate Bill 265
Introduced by Senator Suzette Valladares (R-23-Santa Clarita), Senate Bill 265 makes burglary within an area under a county or local state of emergency or an evacuation order, also known as looting, punishable as a felony.
Traffic Safety
Assembly Bill 875
Introduced by Assembly Member Al Muratsuchi (D-66-Torrance), Assembly Bill 875 authorizes law enforcement officers to impound an electric bicycle operating on a public street if it exceeds the legally permitted speed for electric bicycles, including those with motors capable of propelling the bicycle beyond 20 mph without pedaling. This bill would also authorize law enforcement officers to remove a bicycle operated by a person who (1) is under 16 years of age and is operating a Class III electric bicycle or (2) is operating a Class III electric bicycle without a helmet.
Current State law categorizes electric bicycles into three classifications:
• Class I: Pedal-assist electric bicycle with a max speed of 20 mph that does not have a throttle or a minimum age requirement;
• Class II: Pedal-assist electric bicycle with a max speed of 20 mph that has a throttle- powered motor, also with no age requirement;
• Class III: Pedal-assist electric bicycle with a max speed of 28 mph that does not have a
throttle but has a minimum age requirement of 16 years of age.
Often mistaken for an electric bicycle, another vehicle that is rapidly growing in popularity is electric motorcycles, often with a maximum speed ranging from 45 mph - 65 mph, equipped with throttle-powered motors, and typically do not come with pedals. Current State law prohibits the use of electric motorcycles on sidewalks, bike paths or paseos, bike lanes, or any off-street parking facilities.
California Vehicle Code Section 312.5 defines an electric bicycle as: (a) An “electric bicycle” is a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts.
Due to the motors on electric motorcycles exceeding the 750-watt limit, electric motorcycles cannot be legally modified to be used on sidewalks, bike paths or paseos, bike lanes, or off-street parking facilities.
In order to operate an electric motorcycle on public streets, the vehicle must be outfitted with turn signals and the user must possess an M1 Drivers License and have the vehicle registered and insured. The user must also wear a helmet while operating an electric motorcycle.
Although bicycle involved collisions in the City of Santa Clarita (City) have remained relatively consistent in the last three years, bicycle collisions involving electric bicycles and electric motorcycles has increased from 31 percent of all bicycle involved collisions in 2022 to 41 percent of all bicycle involved collisions in 2024. As these vehicles are growing in popularity, predominantly among youth, data reflects that those under the age of 18 are more likely to be involved in a collision using an electric bicycle or electric motorcycle than when using a traditional bicycle with no motor.
Moreover, given the ability to accelerate at a more rapid rate and reach higher speeds, collisions resulting in severe injury or fatality was higher among electric bicycles or electric motorcycles than traditional non-motorized bicycles in the last three years. The City has had two recent fatalities involving youth riding electric bicycles or electric motorcycles, a 17-year old who collided with the side of a truck in October 2023, and most recently, a 14-year old who collided head-on with a vehicle in January 2025.
Assembly Bill 1022
Introduced by Assembly Member Ash Kalra (D-25-San Jose), Assembly Bill 1022 prohibits a law enforcement officer or parking enforcement officer from having a vehicle impounded or immobilized due to having five or more unpaid parking citations.
Current State law authorizes a law enforcement officer or parking enforcement officer to impound or immobilize a vehicle if it has five or more unpaid parking or traffic citations. The City’s Parking Enforcement administers state and City vehicle regulations, including the impounding of vehicles that have five or more unpaid parking or traffic citations.
Local parking regulations help maintain traffic flow and enhance public safety. They complement the City’s commitment to promote a safe environment for residents, businesses, and visitors. Parking Enforcement Officers patrol City streets and parking lots, and primarily respond
to reports from residents. They also identify stolen, abandoned, inoperative, and unregistered vehicles on public streets.
Additionally, the City imposes parking requirements to ensure adequate and reasonable access to homes. These standards serve as a safeguard to prevent congestion of on-street vehicle parking that may cause unsafe conditions for surrounding residents and businesses and access challenges for emergency personnel, especially in the event of an emergency or evacuation.
Assembly Bill 1022 preempts the City’s ability to maintain safe and accessible streets and opposing this legislation is consistent in safeguarding the City’s efforts with regard to parking enforcement.
All five bills listed in this report are pending a hearing in their first policy committee or an assignment to a policy committee, at the time this report was developed.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action, as provided by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
The resources required to implement the recommended action are contained within the City of Santa Clarita's adopted Fiscal Year 2024-25 budget.
ATTACHMENTS
Assembly Bill 271 - Bill Text
Assembly Bill 875 - Bill Text
Assembly Bill 1022 - Bill Text
Senate Bill 264 - Bill Text
Senate Bill 265 - Bill Text