Decriminalize Jaywalking – AB 2147

2022 (PASSED)

AB 2147, The Freedom to Walk Act, would decriminalize jaywalking when the roadway is safe to cross.  

LCCRSF is sponsoring AB 2147 (Ting), the Freedom to Walk Act, a reintroduction of last year’s (AB 1238) bill to decriminalize jaywalking. This crucial legislation will protect vulnerable pedestrians against arbitrary, racially-biased, pretextual policing, as well as burdensome fees and fines, and unnecessary, and potentially lethal, interactions with law enforcement  

 he latest proposal makes technical changes to address the concerns stated in the Governor’s veto message of AB 1238 last year. Instead of repealing the state’s jaywalking laws, the new bill defines when an officer can stop a pedestrian for jaywalking – specified as only when a reasonably careful person would realize there’s an immediate danger of a collision.  

AB 2147/The Freedom To Walk Act promotes the fair and equitable use of streets by:   

  • Legalizing crossings outside of a crosswalk or against a traffic light when safe, thereby eliminating fines for safe crossings  
  • Preventing police from using jaywalking as a pretext to stop Black and Brown people 

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