The California Legislature passed a bill earlier this month that would require human safety drivers in heavy-duty robot trucks for at least the next five years.

On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he killed it.

“Given the existing regulatory framework that currently and adequately regulates this specific technology, this bill is not necessary at this time,” the governor said in a veto message.

The bill was sponsored by the Teamsters union and supported by traffic safety advocates. Opponents: CEO-less tech companies, Silicon Valley lobbyists, and various chambers of commerce and business leadership groups. Proponents focused on safety and employment, opponents on business growth and technological progress.

Driverless trucks on California highways? Lawmakers don’t trust the DMV to guarantee safety

Even with strong support from the business community, the Legislature passed the bill with bipartisan support, with 105 lawmakers voting in favor, six voting no, and nine members holding out.

With the Legislature out of the picture, the California Department of Motor Vehicles will decide when, at least for now

self-driving trucks that weigh from 10,000 to 80,000 pounds when fully loaded

can hit the road in California without anyone on board.

Legislative dissatisfaction with the DMV played a major role in the debate. “The DMV has not done a good job regulating this space,” Assembly Transportation Committee Chairwoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) said during the bill’s hearing in May.

Lawmakers and city officials in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Monica have complained about the DMV’s lax enforcement of autonomous vehicles, which they say puts business interests above traffic flow and public safety. The issue came to a head earlier this year

San Francisco’s

fire chief and other emergency services raised the alarm about robot taxis hindering emergency services, and the failure of the companies

failed

to get them out of the way in a timely manner.

San Francisco’s fire chief is fed up with robotaxis destroying her fire trucks. And LA is next

The legislature itself put all power over the safety of autonomous vehicles in the hands of the DMV in 2021. Robotaxi fares are regulated by the California Public Utility Commission. Newsom appointed DMV head Steve Gordon, a Silicon Valley businessman, to his post, and Newsom also appointed all five

CPUC of the California Public Utility Commission

members, including John Reynolds, former chief counsel for Cruise, one of the robotaxi companies that has drawn the ire of emergency services.

DMV regulations require human safety drivers in experimental robotic vehicles, and the DMV will decide when the experiment is over and the vehicles are ready for deployment. Tesla is using its own customers to experiment with its Full Self-Driving technology on public roads, but the DMV has said that’s okay because Tesla customers are legally required to pay attention.

The DMV also prohibits a company from falsely marketing autonomous technology to customers. The department has started an investigation into whether the name Full Self-Driving violates that rule. The investigation is now in its 28th month, and the RDW

declines have decreased

to say how many months or years this is expected to last.

Newsom rarely speaks about the DMV. Asked by a reporter in May if he was concerned about lawmakers’ criticism of the agency, Newsom said he has “great confidence” in Gordon and his team.