Bill to Double Fines Of Protestors Blocking Freeway Traffic Introduced In Assembly

A new bill that would double the penalties for protestors who block traffic on freeways in California was introduced to the Assembly on Thursday following a series of large-scale protests blocking highways in recent years.

Assembly Bill 2742, authored by Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez (R-Trabuco Canyon), would specifically prohibit a person driving a vehicle upon a highway or a pedestrian from willfully obstructing a highway, including in the course of a protest, in any manner that interferes with the ability of an authorized emergency vehicle to pass and would make a violation of this provision punishable by doubled fines.

First convictions for block traffic with vehicles would between $100-$250, second convictions between $150-$500, and third convictions between $250-$500. Meanwhile, protestors themselves who block traffic would have fines of $200-$500 for first convictions, $300-$1,000 for second convictions, and $500-$1,000 for third convictions.

Assemblywoman Sanchez wrote the bill because of the increased number of protests where protestors willingly blocked traffic for long periods of time, causing massive traffic snarls and prevented emergency vehicles from responding to urgent situations. Recent protests in San Francisco over the Israel-Hamas war, for example, shut down both the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge, with the former lasting for several hours last November.

“Like every other hardworking Californian, I’m sick and tired of seeing illegal protests shut down highways,” said Sanchez on Thursday. “When they block traffic they’re preventing fire trucks from responding to emergencies, people getting to work, and parents picking up their kids at school. That’s why I’m proud to introduce AB 2742 to make sure that these entitled extremists know that their actions have consequences.

“When these protestors block traffic, they are victimizing innocent individuals just to further a political agenda. We need to ensure that the consequences for this behavior increase so that future instances are less likely to occur.”

I've just introduced AB 2742 to double penalties for extreme protestors who block highway traffic. Thanks to co-authors: @J_GallagherAD3 @HeathFloraCA @AsmLaurieDavies @PhillipChenCA @devonjmathis @AsmMeganDahle @TriTa4CA @DianeDixonAD72 pic.twitter.com/pehKbza6uZ

— Assemblywoman Kate Sanchez (@AsmKateSanchez) February 15, 2024

Many Republican legislators quickly signed onto the bill as co-authors on Thursday and Friday, including Assemblymembers James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), Heath Flora (R-Ripon), Laurie Davies (R-Laguna Niguel), Phillip Chen (R-Yorba Linda), Devon Mathis (R-Visalia), Megan Dahle (R-Bieber), Tri Ta (R-Westminister), and Diane Dixon (R-Newport Beach). While opposition has yet to mount against the bill, insiders told the Globe on Friday that many Democrats are likely to oppose the bill.

“They are focusing on safety and for not making people mad for being late for things, both of which people want,” added “Dana”, a staffer at the State Capitol, to the Globe. “That might attract some Democrats to this. But for many, their constituents are supportive of disruptive protests. I guarantee you there will be arguments against this bill saying that there is a right to protest, and this bill would harm that.

“For this to convince those Assemblymembers and Senators, they need to find an ambulance driver or police officer or someone who can say that they were delayed by a protest, and that because it happened, people were harmed. You get those instances, and a lot of Democrats will vote for this bill, or at least get constituent pressure. We’ve seen it with plenty of safety bills in the past. It isn’t that popular of a bill until there are statistics behind it.

“And this bill is just doubling fines. This isn’t giving permission of ramming protest roadblocks which, next door in Nevada, the police have done before. This is doubling fines to make protestors less likely to block highways and cause people harm. Supporters need those stories however. That’s what is missing here. They need to ask someone opposing this bill “So you’re ok with someone dying because of this?”.”

AB 2742 is to be heard in Assembly committees soon.