Legislation providing a regulatory framework for the testing and deployment of automated vehicle technology moved to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk Thursday for his signature.
The state lags in job creation in the tech and innovation industry, partially because of unaccommodating public policy, according to a Brookings Institution report. House Bill 2398 aligns Pennsylvania with more than a dozen other states.
The automated vehicle technology sector is expected to grow to a more than $1 trillion global market by 2026, according to a Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce report.
Pittsburgh has an automated vehicle technology sector worth $10 billion, 1 percent of the global market growth. It employs 5,000 people, according to the chamber.
The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, the state’s largest broad-based business association, supports the bill.
“Pennsylvania has become a hub for tech investment and innovation, and this bill takes a giant step toward cementing us as a prime location for companies to design, build and export automated vehicles across the nation and around the world,” PA Chamber President and CEO Luke Bernstein said. “We’re grateful that the General Assembly recognized the long-term economic gains of pursuing this future-focused policy and getting it to the governor’s desk.”