The Overview

If you live in Encinitas, a state law now blocks the city from removing a protected bicycle lane on Santa Fe Drive, no matter what the city council decides. California's Budget Acts of 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, Senate Bill 114, became law when Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed it Sept. 18. California's budget had swung from a record surplus to a deficit in a single year, driven by volatile tax revenues, according to CalMatters, and budget trailer bills like this one are the vehicle the state uses to make mid-cycle adjustments to spending already approved by earlier budget acts. ​

What the Law Does

The law amends the Budget Acts of 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, changing items of appropriation and making other adjustments to state spending for those fiscal years. Among its provisions, it bars the city of Encinitas from removing the protected bicycle lane on Santa Fe Drive, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The bill could prevent Encinitas from changing parts of Santa Fe Drive, where the city had been weighing a redesign that would remove a protected bike lane. Sen. Catherine Blakespear said the provision protects public safety, the Union-Tribune reported.

Legislative Status

Sen. John Laird (D) sponsored the bill as its sole lead sponsor. The Senate passed it 28-10 on March 20, 2025. The bill was withdrawn from the Assembly Budget Committee on Aug. 30, 2026, under Assembly Rule 96, bypassing a committee vote, and passed the full Assembly the next day. The Assembly passed it unanimously 79-0 on Aug. 31, 2026. The Senate then concurred in Assembly amendments 30-6 on the same date, with only six senators opposing the final version.

Encinitas formally opposed the bill's intervention in the Santa Fe Drive redesign, the Coast News reported. Mayor Bruce Ehlers called the move "unbelievably sneaky," according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, and raised potential legal objections, the Coast News reported. The city's opposition puts it on a potential collision course with the state, though whether Encinitas pursues a legal challenge remains to be seen.

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