The California State Senate local government committee was responsible for the groundbreaking advancement Wednesday that can potentially change the future of autonomous vehicles (AVs) in the state. State of Legislature SB 915 authorizes local municipalities to submit what they want to allow and it may also levy taxes on the autonomous vehicles as they enter their jurisdictions.
Concerns prompt legislative action
The fact that SB 915 is a continuous concern on the rise about road safety in California forms the background for forwarding its implementation. Last year showed us that one of the worst years in roadway fatality accidents was also a year that was largely driven by the human behaviors involved in such accidents, such as distracted driving, drunk driving, and speeding. Advocates wish to enact local governments’ ability to regulate the deployment of AV as they seek to tackle this issue at the community level, where the greatest impact can be observed.
SB 915 creates a roadmap that is substantially different from the current statutory instructions about AV in California. Before this, control of AV deployment was under the jurisdiction of state agencies like the DMV and CPUC which previously superintended units. To this end, running this legislation will remove the existing requirement to acquire permits from the state government and grant the power to municipalities so that they can do the task by themselves by considering the problems of the communities.
Impact on industry
The passage of SB 915 will have a massive impact on businesses whose activities are developing and deploying whatever kind of automation vehicles. The regulation which is founded on a basic principle of decentralizing regulatory authority introduces more nuance for businesses to pay stock on the navigating landscape of AV in California. Businesses can now operate under disparate regulation and requirement regimes imposed by different municipalities, which can impact the amount and effectiveness of their operations.
Reactions and next steps
Some supporters and opponents still wanted to interpret the legislation and generate reactions from interested parties. On the one hand, some are fully in support of the measure since it addresses some of the major concerns about the safety of the roads and the local governance, while others have more serious reservations about the negative implications of the measure on the innovations and the more complex image of the world around us. Along the way of moving through the process of law-making, the stakeholders, on the part of all parties, will pay close attention looking at its effects while also seeking to defend their interests.
The wave of gloom and doom over road safety particularly combined with the explosion of AV technology is exemplified by the passing of SB 951 by the California Senate Committee on Local Government. The law, which seeks to settle safe AV deployment issues at the local level, and hence does so away from the control of state-level agencies, does this by granting local municipalities this authority. The passage of SB 915 is representative of a massive transition in AV environment regulation in California affecting not only vehicle industries and automobile drivers, or users. The legislation will go through more phases and the stakeholders will thus be expected to continue to join in dialogues, advocacy, and other effort to change the way the policy will be implemented and its impact.
This article originally appeared in The Robot Report