Governor Murphy recently signed a bill (SJR-105), sponsored by Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean, which creates the New Jersey Advanced Autonomous Vehicle Task Force. The 11-member task force will study autonomous vehicles and recommend laws, rules and regulations that New Jersey may enact or adopt to safely integrate this developing technology on the State’s roadways. New Jersey is a little late to the party, becoming the 29th state to pass a bill related to autonomous vehicles.
Senator Kean is hopeful the innovations that are moving autonomous vehicle technology ahead every day will lead to a burgeoning new sector of the transportation industry. The bill’s aim is to ensure New Jersey’s policymakers have a better understanding of the technology in order to make informed decisions on how the State can take full advantage of the opportunities available.
The legislation stipulates that the task force must hold its first meeting within 90 days of the bill becoming law (sometime in June 2019) and issue a report to the Governor within six months (December 2019).
NJ CAR will continue following this story and report any developments.