Autonomous vehicle bill advances despite state warnings on outdated standards
by Alaska NewsMay 16, 2026(19h ago)4 min read1 viewsJuneau, Alaska
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A bill requiring human safety operators in most autonomous vehicles operating in Alaska was set aside without action Thursday after state transportation officials warned the legislation relies on outdated industry standards and could stifle innovation.
House Bill 217 would prohibit commercial autonomous vehicles from operating on Alaska roads without a qualified human driver physically present in the vehicle. The bill exempts driver-assist features like collision avoidance systems, adaptive cruise control, and lane assistance. The legislation also allows commercial driver's license applicants who fail part of the CDL test to retake only the failed portion, aligning Alaska with federal guidelines.
The bill passed the House floor 39-0 and cleared the Senate Transportation Committee before reaching the Senate State Affairs Committee for what could be its final hearing. With four to five days remaining in the legislative session, the committee set the bill aside Thursday without taking action.
Benjamin Glenn, the Department of Transportation's emerging technologies coordinator, told the committee the bill uses definitions that are roughly 10 years old and do not meet current industry standards. He said the outdated language could hurt Alaska's competitiveness for federal intelligent transportation grants and stifle innovation before autonomous technology can be tested in Alaska conditions.
"The definitions are not exactly modern. They are about a 10-year-old concept that has been replaced significantly, at least in 2021," Glenn said. "These are not the types of definitions that are used by pretty much any other state with an active AV bill or law."
Glenn pointed to specific problems with how the bill defines autonomous technology and levels of automation. The legislation does not define what autonomous technology is, he said, but rather what it is not. The bill also uses levels of automation that do not align with Society of Automotive Engineers standard J3016, which sets official industry taxonomy.
The scope of the bill remained disputed during the hearing. Recent amendments attempted to exempt passenger transport services like robotaxis from the human operator requirement, but Glenn and industry representatives said the language remained unclear. Glenn said the bill had expanded beyond its original commercial-only focus and could affect personal-use autonomous features like Tesla's parking lot pickup function.
Senator Robert Myers of North Pole, whose office drafted the original version of the bill, defended the legislation as a responsible approach to emerging technology. Myers compared the bill to Federal Aviation Administration rules that required drones to stay within line of sight of operators for 15 years before allowing expanded use.
This article was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by editors before publishing. Every claim can be verified against the original transcript. If you spot an error, let us know.
"We are trying to say this technology is coming. I don't want it. I'm not trying to stop it from coming, but I am trying to say that we shouldn't just let it rush headlong into, onto our roads right now, especially given how unique some of Alaska's roads are," Myers said.
Myers said Alaska's weather conditions, distances between services, and mix of paved and gravel roads require extra caution. He expects the state will revisit the restrictions in 10 to 15 years as the technology matures.
Myers said his office has been in contact with the Department of Transportation since last year. "We understand that they have been uneasy regarding the concept, but they have not brought us specific concerns in terms of things like definitions. That was never something that they brought to us," Myers said.
Glenn acknowledged the department had not submitted concerns in writing, offering them only in verbal testimony at committee hearings. He said the department would like more time to work on the legislation to clarify how it would affect commercial vehicles and potential innovation.
Representative Ashley Carrick, who introduced the bill in the House, said the legislation came from collaboration with the trucking industry. "By requiring a qualified human safety operator to be present, the bill ensures that a qualified driver would potentially be able to intervene if there was a technological malfunction that occurred, and it ultimately keeps all road users safe and helps to preserve jobs in Alaska in this industry," Carrick said.
Patrick Fitzgerald, political coordinator for Teamsters Local 959, testified in support of the bill. He said Alaska's unpredictable weather and road conditions require a human safety net for autonomous vehicles.
"Snow, sleet, rain, moose, and numerous other factors require the utmost due diligence for navigating through Alaska's roadways," Fitzgerald said. "Although autonomous technology is developing and developing more and more advancements, weather conditions in the state are still very unpredictable."
Rose Feliciano, testifying on behalf of TechNet from Seattle, argued the bill would effectively ban autonomous vehicle development in Alaska before companies can test whether the technology works in the state's unique conditions. She said no other state has enacted this type of barrier to autonomous vehicle deployment.
"The reality is companies will not invest in states where the law effectively prevents innovation from occurring in the first place," Feliciano said. "If this bill passes in its current form, Alaska risks sending the message that the state is closed to the future of freight technology and transportation innovation."
Committee members and legislative legal counsel spent time during the hearing discussing the undefined term "human safety operator," which appears throughout the bill. Claire Radford of Legislative Legal Services said the term is not defined in the bill and would be interpreted by courts based on generally understood meaning and requirements that the operator meet federal and state licensing standards for both autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles.
The Senate State Affairs Committee may meet Saturday, though Chair Scott Kawasaki said the meeting could be moved to a later time, rescheduled, or canceled entirely depending on the schedule.
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