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Legal counsel: state law preempts Metro regulation of autonomous vehicles, commissioners press for oversight
Summary
Legal counsel told the commission state law preempts Metro’s authority to regulate autonomous vehicles; commissioners voiced concern that no entity is clearly enforcing standards locally.
Legal counsel (S11) told the commission that state law prevents Metro from regulating autonomous vehicles and that the commission therefore lacks jurisdiction to require companies such as Waymo to present before it.
"This was an item that we determined that we couldn't move forward with because there's state law that specifically preempts Metro. Metro is not allowed to regulate autonomous vehicles in any way," legal counsel said. Commissioner (S8) responded by expressing frustration that, while Metro cannot regulate, there appears to be no state or local entity regularly overseeing operations: "My concern is that it seems as though nobody's minding the store...somebody needs to be in a position to regulate them."
The exchange left commissioners with recurring concern about gaps in oversight even though the commission lacks legal authority; no formal action was taken at the meeting to request state-level attention.
