Bill would require human safety operators in commercial autonomous vehicles; committee questions CDL retest language

Representative Ashley Kerrick, sponsor of House Bill 217, told the Senate Transportation Committee on May 5 that the bill would require a human safety operator be present in commercial autonomous vehicles operating in Alaska while not broadly banning autonomous vehicles.

Kerrick, a member of the House Transportation Committee representing House District 35, said the House made several changes to the bill before sending it to the Senate. Among them is an amendment that would allow a commercial driver who fails a portion of the commercial driver's license (CDL) test to retake only the failed component rather than repeating the entire test. The House language also carves out personal, noncommercial vehicles (vehicles with a gross weight of 10,000 pounds or less or designed to transport fewer than 16 passengers, including the driver) and clarifies civil liability will default to current motor vehicle crash liability rather than creating a new system. Personal delivery devices that carry less than 120 pounds and travel under 10 mph are also excluded.

Committee members focused much of their questioning on the retest language. Senator Kiel asked whether the amendment could be gamed by repeatedly retaking portions of a test; Kerrick said the bill does not specify unlimited retakes and that federal CDL testing rules and existing time limits on test validity constrain retesting. "It's not specified, but there is a time limit on which your regular commercial driver's test is applicable for," Kerrick said, and she said she would follow up with more detail.

Kerrick and her staff also discussed interstate implications. Chair Senator Bjorkman asked how the bill would affect freight moving into Alaska from the Lower 48 via Canada; staffer Griffin Sukau said Yukon territory regulations generally do not allow fully autonomous commercial vehicles, meaning trucks crossing into Alaska would need a human safety operator qualified with a CDL to finish their route in Alaska. "From what I can find specifically for the Yukon territory of Canada, they do not allow fully autonomous vehicles, which is what this bill specifically targets," Sukau told the committee.

Committee members raised access concerns for rural Alaskans who must travel or pay significant costs to obtain CDLs. Senator Stedman said it can be "expensive and awkward" to get a CDL in remote Southeast communities, and Kerrick said the amendment's intent is to ease burdens by allowing a retake of only the failed component rather than restarting the whole process.

No vote was taken on HB 217; the committee set the bill aside for further consideration. Representative Kerrick committed to provide additional details on the retest timing and how the amendment aligns with federal CDL testing rules before further action.

The committee is scheduled to reconvene May 6 to hear a pending referral on House Bill 302 (travel insurance).