California Assembly Bill AB954

California 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/20/25
• Refer: 3/10/25
• Report Pass: 4/8/25
• Refer: 4/8/25
• Refer: 5/14/25
• Report Pass: 5/23/25
• Engrossed: 6/2/25
• Refer: 6/3/25
• Refer: 6/11/25
• Report Pass: 6/30/25
• Refer: 6/30/25
• Report Pass: 7/9/25
• Refer: 7/9/25

Caption

An act to add and repeal Section 14526.1 amend Section 14524.4 of the Government Code, relating to transportation.

Summary

AB 954 would direct the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to develop a proposal for a pilot program creating branded, numbered, and signed bicycle highway networks in two major metropolitan areas in different regions of the state. The pilot networks would be limited to bicyclists and designed for longer trips, with intermittent entrances and exits and the ability to support higher-speed bicycle travel of up to 25 miles per hour. Caltrans would have to choose sites based on regional support, connectivity to existing bike routes, and the potential to increase active transportation. The bill also amends the state’s interregional transportation planning framework. It requires Caltrans, to the extent feasible and consistent with the California Transportation Plan, to assess incorporating bicycle highways into strategic interregional corridors in the Interregional Transportation Strategic Plan (ITSP). In addition, Caltrans must include the pilot proposal in the draft Interregional Transportation Improvement Program (ITIP) by January 1, 2030, take the steps needed to program it into the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), and report to the Legislature by July 1, 2031, on the pilot’s status and recommendations for expanding bicycle highway networks. The pilot provision would become inoperative in 2035 and be repealed in 2036.

Impact

AB 954 would add a new, temporary section to the Government Code governing transportation planning and would modify the ITSP to explicitly consider bicycle highways as part of interregional corridors. It would also create a pathway for a bicycle highway pilot project to be included in the STIP/ITIP process, which is the mechanism used to program state and federal transportation capital funds. The bill does not itself appropriate funds, but it would require Caltrans to undertake planning, site selection, and reporting activities that could shape future transportation investments and policy for active transportation infrastructure.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have generally favorable support in the Legislature, as reflected by multiple committee and floor votes with clear majorities, including a 59-19 Assembly third-reading vote and earlier committee approvals. The overall tone of the measure is pro-active transportation and pro-bicycle infrastructure, with the bill framed as a planning and pilot effort rather than a large immediate spending commitment. Its movement through the process suggests broad interest in exploring bicycle highways as part of California’s transportation network.

Contention

The main points of contention likely center on whether bicycle highways should be prioritized within state transportation planning and whether the pilot’s benefits justify the administrative and planning burden. Because the bill requires Caltrans to integrate the proposal into the STIP process and assess corridor incorporation only “to the extent feasible,” concerns may focus on feasibility, regional equity, and how bicycle highways would interact with existing roadway and transit investments. The fact that the bill was ultimately ordered to the inactive file at the request of Senator Menjivar suggests there may have been procedural or strategic reasons to pause the measure despite earlier support.