news

This morning, legislation authored by Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) to aid self-driving car development, testing, and implementation by establishing a federal regulatory framework was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee in a 54-0 vote. Latta, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, has been a leader in the bipartisan effort to address safety issues and regulatory obstacles regarding autonomous vehicles. More information on the bill is available here.

“Self-driving cars have the potential to reduce traffic accidents and deaths, increase mobility, and improve quality-of-life,” said Latta. “The legislation passed by committee was the result of a bipartisan effort, which involved over 250 meetings with interested stakeholders in 2017 alone. Congress can’t get caught flat-footed on this new technology, and this bill ensures that a definitive framework is in place as industry develops, tests, and deploys autonomous vehicles.”

View Latta’s opening statement here.

In addition to the self-driving car mark-up, the Energy and Commerce Committee also passed a drinking water infrastructure package that includes provisions authored by Latta. More information on how Latta’s provisions would help states and communities undertake drinking water infrastructure projects is available here.

###