California Senate Bill 1298 passed the State Senate today in a unanimous, bipartisan vote of 37-0, paving the way for safety and performance standards that cover autonomous vehicles operating on the state's roads and highways.

The bill, authored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), is on its way to the State Assembly for consideration, and it's expected to pass within the next month.

“Thousands of Californians tragically die in auto accidents each year," Padilla said after the bill's passage. "The vast majority of these collisions are due to human error. Through the use of computers, sensors and other systems, an autonomous vehicle can analyze the driving environment more quickly and accurately and can operate the vehicle more safely."

The legislation isn't quite as broad as the law recently passed by Nevada to allow autonomous vehicles to test on the state's roads, but would rather set up a series of safety guidelines and performance standards that the California Highway Patrol (CHP) would use to evaluate the operation of such vehicles in the state.

Further, autonomous vehicles testing in California would have to meet all applicable state and federal safety standards, and work in conjunction with the CHP and the Department of Motor Vehicles to recommend additional requirements. And naturally, a licensed driver would need to be in the vehicle at all times.

The passage of the legislation comes weeks after Arizona, Hawaii, Florida and Oklahoma have all announced plans to consider similar legislation in their respective states. And Google, along with the Automobile Club of Southern California, the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, TechNet, and TechAmerica have all supported the California bill.

“Developing and deploying autonomous vehicles will not only save lives, it will create jobs," Padilla added, going on to say that "California is uniquely positioned to be the global leader in this field."