Councilor Burnley asked the committee to consider whether Somerville should ban or require permits for autonomous-vehicle testing and asked the city solicitor to advise on liability and the city's regulatory authority. Councilor Brownlee asked that the mayor disclose any communications with Waymo or its parent company about testing.

City staff and attorneys including Meredith Stivers, assistant city solicitor, and Kathy Salcharts, special counsel, joined mobility staff and Somerville Fire Assistant Chief Sean Tierney for an interdepartmental briefing. The solicitor's written technical memorandum, provided in advance, summarized the legal landscape since 2018 and noted municipalities currently have some ability to limit testing but there are state bills and federal proposals that could preempt municipal authority.

"At the present time, the city can restrict autonomous driving within city limits," the solicitor's office said, while warning that pending state and federal action could change that legal authority. Staff also emphasized peer-city learning on operational issues, data sharing, first-responder interaction and the potential for net increases in vehicle miles traveled.

Kathy Salcharts and Meredith Stivers told the committee that when Waymo representatives were present in the city earlier this year they were gathering data rather than conducting driverless tests. "Right now, there are no vehicles that can operate without a driver present," Salcharts said, and staff confirmed Waymo's activity was data collection with human operators involved. City staff also said they received courtesy emails from corporate groups about video-data collection but did not actively respond or allocate staff time to deeper engagement at that time.

Staff recommended continued interdepartmental coordination, transparency about public communications if future testing is planned, and soliciting technical opinions from the solicitor's office if the council decides to pursue bans, permits or disclosure requirements. The committee marked items 5 through 8 as complete, with the caveat that legislative action would be taken in the appropriate committee if the council decides to pursue formal restrictions.