--- type: "Bill" title: "Authorized emergency vehicles." description: "Existing law authorizes the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol to issue authorized emergency vehicle permits for certain vehicles, including any vehicle owned and operated by a public utility and any vehicle owned and operated by a fire company, as specified, upon a finding that the vehicle is used in responding to emergency calls for fire or law enforcement, the immediate preservation of life or property, or the apprehension of law violators." jurisdiction: "us/states/ca" legislature: "California Legislature" session: "20252026" identifier: "AB 438" citation: "California AB 438 (20252026)" classification: ["bill"] subjects: ["Authorizedemergencyvehicles"] status: "enacted" primary_sponsors: ["Hadwick"] version_count: 7 action_count: 23 vote_count: 6 first_action: "2025-02-06" last_action: "2025-10-01" source: "openstates" source_identifier: "ocd-bill/11fba883-0712-4908-bd1d-83c782f47eb3" source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB438" source_hash: "0039de7d511562b330d0f62c26b87d053f07bdae1b7467aa3810e255a3c4cf35" vintage: "2026-07-01" source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump" retrieved_at: "2026-07-06" confidence: "reported" tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"] --- # California AB 438 (20252026) — Authorized emergency vehicles. Existing law authorizes the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol to issue authorized emergency vehicle permits for certain vehicles, including any vehicle owned and operated by a public utility and any vehicle owned and operated by a fire company, as specified, upon a finding that the vehicle is used in responding to emergency calls for fire or law enforcement, the immediate preservation of life or property, or the apprehension of law violators. ## Version chain The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment. 1. **02/06/25 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB438&version=20250AB43899INT) 2. **03/12/25 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB438&version=20250AB43898AMD) 3. **04/07/25 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB438&version=20250AB43897AMD) 4. **05/29/25 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB438&version=20250AB43896AMD) 5. **10/01/25 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB438&version=20250AB43894CHP) 6. **AB438** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB438) 7. **09/08/25 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB438&version=20250AB43895ENR) ## Votes - AB 438 Hadwick Consent Calendar Second Day — **69–0** (pass) · lower - 3rd Reading AB438 Hadwick By Limón — **40–0** (pass) · upper - Do pass. To Consent Calendar. — **15–0** (pass) · lower - Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar — **15–0** (pass) · lower - AB 438 Hadwick Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **77–0** (pass) · lower - Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **13–0** (pass) · upper ## Sponsors - Hadwick — primary (person) ## Timeline The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote. - **2025-02-06** Read first time. To print. `reading-1` - **2025-02-07** From printer. May be heard in committee March 9. - **2025-02-18** Referred to Com. on TRANS. `referral-committee` - **2025-03-12** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. Read second time and amended. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2` - **2025-03-13** Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. `referral-committee` - **2025-04-07** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on TRANS. Read second time and amended. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2` - **2025-04-08** Re-referred to Com. on TRANS. `referral-committee` - **2025-04-22** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee` - **2025-05-07** From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 7). `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable` - **2025-05-08** Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar. `reading-1, reading-2` - **2025-05-15** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 69. Noes 0. Page 1569.) `passage, reading-1, reading-3` - **2025-05-15** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1` - **2025-05-28** Referred to Com. on TRANS. `referral-committee` - **2025-05-29** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on TRANS. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee` - **2025-06-10** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 10). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee` - **2025-06-23** From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. `committee-passage, reading-2` - **2025-06-24** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-1, reading-2` - **2025-09-02** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0. Page 2412.). `passage, reading-1, reading-3` - **2025-09-02** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. - **2025-09-04** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 2902.). `amendment-passage, committee-passage-favorable` - **2025-09-11** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m. - **2025-10-01** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature` - **2025-10-01** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 152, Statutes of 2025. `became-law` ## Source OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/11fba883-0712-4908-bd1d-83c782f47eb3`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).