Jason Haber, the city's intergovernmental affairs director, and Councilmember Acosta appeared before the Traffic Safety and Mobility Commission to review Carlsbad's legislative program and recent state legislation the city tracked.

The presentation summarized the city's legislative platform, a 2019 council resolution and City Council Policy No. 39 that together set advocacy priorities; described the city's use of lobbyists and partnerships with the League of California Cities and National League of Cities; and listed bills the city has sponsored or tracked in recent sessions. "My name is Jason Haber. I'm the city's intergovernmental affairs director," Haber said as he opened the update.

The update noted five bills Carlsbad sponsored since February 2022 that have become law, highlighted AB 2,234 (an e-bike-related bill), and described a 2024 Brown Act exception bill the city sponsored to allow closed-session cybersecurity discussions. Councilmember Acosta said the subcommittee has also pushed for legislation tied to lifeguarding and employee protections.

Why it matters: the commission's duties overlap with several transportation and public-safety items in the city platform. Staff told the commission they will carry the commission's prior recommendations on AB 2,234 and additional short-term measures to the full City Council at a tentative Dec. 4 meeting.

Key points from the briefing:
- Legislative platform and process: the platform is reviewed annually and gives staff authority to take positions (support, oppose, watch, support if amended). The city uses state/federal lobbyists and a grant writer to pursue funding and policy outcomes.
- Bills and outcomes: the city has sponsored bills on lifeguarding flexibility (2022), an employee temporary restraining order authority (2023), AB 2,234 (e-bike-related) and an authorizing bill to allow cybersecurity closed sessions (AB 2,715). Haber said the original concepts behind some measures were amended in Sacramento for reasons including cost, administrative limits and legal constraints.
- AB 2,234 and commission recommendations: the commission's earlier suggestions included endorsing the bill's under-12 e-bike prohibition, considering a 16-and-over passenger restriction, researching inclusion in a Marin County pilot to restrict some class 2 e-bikes, requiring helmet use for all e-bike riders, and seeking broader state authority for cities to license and register e-bikes or raise minimum ages. Staff said some items were removed from the bill during negotiations but the city may pursue them in future legislation or local regulatory steps.
- Next steps: staff will assemble recommendations the commission gave previously and several recommendations that could be implemented without state law; those will be forwarded to the City Council tentatively on Dec. 4.

Public comment: David Pierce, a resident of the Aviara area, spoke during public comment, urging caution about local-control arguments and expressing concern that state action to supersede local development limits had been necessary in the past. Pierce also cautioned against mandatory e-bike insurance, saying it could undercut the cost advantages of bike travel for some families.

Quotes from the meeting (exact): "There is a lot of work to be done and I know Mr. Haber's gonna go over the bills that we have sponsored, from the city of Carlsbad," Councilmember Acosta said. David Pierce said, "If it weren't for the state, superseding development maximums, we would probably still have that limit in the city of Carlsbad." Jason Haber summarized the commission's prior recommendations: "To adopt the under 12 e-bike rider ban ... consider adopting a rule that would prohibit riders that are 16 from carrying passengers on e-bikes ... [and] recommend researching the feasibility of including Carlsbad in another bill ... as a pilot program."

What the city will do next: staff will consult with the police department and city attorney to identify near-term local measures that do not require state action and will compile the commission's recommendations for a City Council agenda item in early December.

Background and limits: staff emphasized the difficulty of changing state law and noted that some originally-discussed items were removed from AB 2,234 because of cost, administrative or legal constraints. The presentation also described other bills the city tracked this year, including SB 79 (density/height near transit) and SB 358 (revised developer fee treatment), which the city opposed and which were on the governor's desk at the time of the briefing.

Ending: The commission did not take a formal vote on the legislative update; staff left the commission with an invitation to forward ideas to the legislative subcommittee or to attend subcommittee meetings. Staff noted the city posts its platform and letters of support/opposition to bills publicly and encouraged commissioners to submit proposed language for the platform if they wish.