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Minnesota Senate passes major transportation bill
The Minnesota Senate advanced a big transportation bill but left off self-driving cars. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has more.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota lawmakers are moving forward on a big transportation bill, but the debate over self-driving cars and legislative gridlock is shaping this year’s session.
Senate advances transportation bill without House agreement
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MN transportation bill advances without self-driving vehicles
The Minnesota House Transportation Committee became contentious as lawmakers passed a bill without autonomous vehicle legislation. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has the details.
What we know:
The Minnesota Senate, led by the DFL majority, passed a transportation bill that includes some Republican-backed ideas. However, the bill does not address autonomous vehicles.
Senate Republicans questioned the move, with Sen. Eric Pratt saying, "We should be meeting with the House and having that agreement on what's going to move and it feels like the Senate is going rogue on this one," said Pratt.
Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy said the Senate will continue its work, explaining, "We're going to get the work done for the people of Minnesota. And I hope the other body gets their act together," said Murphy.
The Senate’s bill moves forward as lawmakers begin negotiations with the House and Gov. Tim Walz. In the meantime, the Senate plans to keep passing bills.
In the bill:
It does include a clearer definition of e-bikes.
Bicycles with electric motors providing less than 1,500 watts of power are fine for riding on the street without a license.
Above that are e-motos and this proposed new law would make sure they get regulated and insured like gasoline-powered motorcycles.
The bill also calls for e-bike riders under the age of 18 to wear helmets. And it funds an educational campaign about the laws for e-bikes.
The Senate transportation bill also requires driver’s education classes for anyone under the age of 21 who is trying to get a new driver’s license.
They’d have to finish classroom studies and behind-the-wheel training. Right now, the same requirements apply to anyone under the age of 18.
But a University of Nebraska study found 18- to 20-year-olds who skip driver’s Ed are 75% more likely to get a ticket, and 24% more likely to be involved in a fatal crash.
The House stalls on self-driving vehicle legislation
What they're saying:
Minnesota Republicans have made it a priority to set up rules for companies like Waymo and other autonomous vehicle businesses. "This is setting kind of groundbreaking policy and exploring groundbreaking policy statewide for any autonomous vehicle, driver, transit provider, or business," said Rep. Jon Koznick.
But efforts in the House to pass bills on self-driving ride-sharing or even to study the issue have failed on party-line votes. Meetings have been marked by disagreements. "The whole point here was not to have a confrontational debate. I thought we could be mature adults about this," said Koznick.
Rep. Brad Tabke, who chairs the House committee, closed out the session without a transportation omnibus bill, saying, "Extremely unfortunate that we do not have a finance bill working forward, and we still have time to fix that," said Tabke.
The lack of progress means it’s highly unlikely the House will produce a unified transportation bill this session.
Chances of new autonomous vehicle rules remain slim
The company Waymo believes it can operate legally in Minnesota without a new law, but that could leave cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul to create their own rules. Lawmakers say the chances of passing statewide self-driving vehicle legislation this session is slim.
What we don't know:
It’s unclear if the House and Senate will reach an agreement on a transportation bill that includes autonomous vehicle regulations before the session ends. The future of statewide rules for self-driving cars in Minnesota remains uncertain.