A bill permitting vehicles the ability to drive themselves on public roads without humans inside of them has been approved by both legislative chambers in Harrisburg. It now goes to Gov. Tom Wolf's desk for final passage, an act he said he would support back in April.
The House voted 119-79 and the Senate voted 29-20 to advance the bill.
Upon Wolf's signature, House Bill 2398 will amend the state's Title 75 Motor Vehicle Code to no longer require a licensed human driver to be inside a highly automated vehicle when that vehicle is undergoing testing on public roadways. Following its passage, Pennsylvania will then join over a dozen states that permit similar testing arrangements for autonomous vehicle (AV) companies that have demonstrated the ability to meet certain advanced safety requirements and protections, one of which is the requirement that AV certificate holders carry a minimum of $1 million in insurance coverage.
The bipartisan bill's passage in the state house is the result of a coalition of advocates, including Pittsburgh-based AV companies, research firms, universities and PennDOT. Opponents of the bill have expressed concerns over the potential labor implications it carries especially as it relates to claims that there aren't enough protections for unions and workers, like truck drivers, that the implementation of this technology is set to impact the most.
Pittsburgh's AV industry employs nearly 7,000 workers across the companies based here and the others that have operations in the Pittsburgh area.
"Pennsylvania has become a hub for tech investment and innovation, and this bill takes a giant step toward cementing us as a prime location for companies to design, build and export automated vehicles across the nation and around the world," Pennsylvania Chamber President and CEO Luke Bernstein said in a prepared statement. "We’re grateful that the General Assembly recognized the long-term economic gains of pursuing this future-focused policy and getting it to the governor’s desk."
Strip District-based Aurora Innovation Inc. praised the bill's advancement. It was at the company's headquarters in April that Wolf first announced his public support for such a bill. Aurora employs about 1,800 workers total, most of whom work out of its Pittsburgh offices.
"This legislation will help the autonomous vehicle sector bring billions of dollars of economic value to Pennsylvania in the coming years — maintaining our region's leadership, making roads safer and building a more robust supply chain," Matt Blackburn, senior manager of government relations at Aurora, said in a prepared statement.
Locomation Inc., another Pittsburgh-based AV company headquartered in Lawrenceville, also celebrated the bill's passage at the capitol building.
"Once signed into law by Gov. Wolf, this legislation will clear a major barrier for Locomation to deploy our Pennsylvania-built technology with other companies in the commonwealth, like PGT Trucking," Locomation CEO and Co-Founder Çetin Meriçli said in an email statement to Pittsburgh Inno. "This bill will keep Pennsylvania at the forefront of a global race to ensure the United States remains the leader in autonomous vehicle technology. We appreciate the hard work of the legislature on this issue and their unwavering commitment to keeping the commonwealth at the forefront of innovation. We are thrilled Pennsylvania has taken this step."
The bill's passage in both legislative chambers came on the same day that Argo AI LLC, another Strip District-based AV company, announced it would begin shutting down its operations in what came as a major blow to the region's tech and innovation scene. The startup employs about 1,800 workers globally, about 800 of whom work out of its Pittsburgh offices. Argo said some of its employees will be offered roles at Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen — Argo's largest backers who put more than $1 billion into the company over the past few years — but it did not share how many of those workers would be asked to continue building on the company's legacy.
