SACRAMENTO—Faced with opposition from the tech lobby, a Bay Area lawmaker has gutted legislation that would have required self-driving cars registered in California to be zero-emission vehicles.

Sen. Nancy Skinner's bill, SB 802, amended just before a committee vote Tuesday, would now simply create a task force to study “broader” issues surrounding the deployment of driverless cars in the state.

“I started out presupposing a solution,” Skinner, D-Berkeley, said about her original bill mandating zero-emission vehicles. After reflecting on the language, she said, “it seemed much wiser to engage the thought leaders we have in the state” about the issue.