More specifically, the bill will allow a driver to be charged with third degree assault if the person is driving with "criminal negligence" when they seriously injure a pedestrian or bicyclist with their car.  There was a case in Portland where a bicyclist had their leg severed when the automobile driver made an illegal left turn.  The district attorney noted that if the bicyclist had died, the driver would have been charged with a crime, but since they "only" lost a leg, the driver got off with a ticket.

The law won't apply if the bicyclist is the one breaking the law.