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254-Developing AV Regulatory Policy for TODAY 

Date and Time: Tuesday, July 11, 2023: 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Plaza B

Session Moderators and Organizers

MODERATORS
Baruch Feigenbaum, Senior Managing Director, Transportation Policy, Reason Foundation
Marc Scribner, Senior Transportation Policy Analyst, Reason Foundation

ORGANIZERS
Baruch Feigenbaum, Senior Managing Director, Transportation Policy, Reason Foundation
Marc Scribner, Senior Transportation Policy Analyst, Reason Foundation
Nick Wood, Associate Research Engineer, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Jonathan Robison, Community Planner, USDOT Volpe Transportation Center

TRB Sponsoring Committees and Partners

Session Description and Agenda

DESCRIPTION

This session focuses on the policy and regulatory landscape for AV policy today. Policymakers currently face a different environment as the AV industry continues to develop and transition from testing to expanded operations and commercialization. The session will include two panels where speakers will discuss the pressing policy and regulatory challenges from a Federal, state, and industry perspective. The first panel will discuss the state of the AV industry and current regulatory priorities.

The second panel will explore state policy initiatives and experiences, as states continue to support testing and operations. At the end, there will be an interactive session that allows audience members to brainstorm policy options around an emerging need. Smaller groups will report back towards the end of the session, helping to develop several research needs statements.

AGENDA

1:30 - 1:35pm: Welcome
• Baruch Feigenbaum, Senior Managing Director, Transportation Policy, Reason Foundation

1:35 - 2:45pm: Industry Perspectives on Federal Policy Opportunities and Challenges
• David M. Bonelli, Partner, Venable LLP
• Eric Danko, Senior Director, Federal Affairs, Cruise
• Jeff Farrah, Executive Director, Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association
• David Quinalty, Head of Federal Policy and Government Affairs, Waymo
• Marc Scribner, moderator, Reason Foundation

2:45 - 3:00pm: Break

3:00 - 3:15pm: About the USDOT Highly Automated Systems Safety Center of Excellence (HASS COE)
• Denise Bakar, Highly Automated Systems Safety Center of Excellence, U.S. Department of Transportation

3:15 - 4:00pm: State Policy Experience
• Miguel Acosta, Chief, Autonomous Vehicles Branch, California DMV
• Jeff Brandes, President, Florida Policy Project, former Florida State Senator
• Zeke Reyna, Emerging Technology, Texas Department of Transportation
• Baruch Feigenbaum, moderator, Reason Foundation

4:00 - 4:45pm: Interactive Activity

4:45 - 5:00pm: Report Back and Research Needs Statements
• Baruch Feigenbaum, Senior Managing Director, Transportation Policy, Reason Foundation

Session Objectives

1) Create baseline of understanding for the current federal and state AV regulations
2) Develop consensus among the audience of the problems and possible solutions for these problems
3) Create research needs statements so that research is focused on solving near-term problems