Gov. Gavin Newsom made his choice Friday when confronted with a bill that pitted organized labor versus the tech and business community promoting artificial intelligence.
Newsom chose AI.
He vetoed AB316, which would have required a human driver to be present in the deployment of driverless heavy-duty trucks for at least five years as the state evaluates their safety.
Newsom called the proposed legislation “unnecessary” for the oversight of autonomous trucks, writing in his veto message that “existing law provides sufficient authority to create the appropriate regulatory framework.”
Newsom’s veto goes against the wishes of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, which has 250,000 members in the state and whose president, Sean O’Brien, traveled to California this week for rallies in favor of the legislation. Union officials said the measure eventually could put 350,000 drivers out of work in California.
In his veto message, Newsom said he was directing the state’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency “to lead a stakeholder process next year to review and develop recommendations to mitigate the potential employment impact of testing and deployment of autonomous heavy-duty vehicles.”
The veto drew a swift rebuke Friday from Lorena Gonzalez, leader of the 2.1 million-member California Labor Federation, who called out Newsom for siding with his business world allies over his friends in labor.
Hellbound and Down 