1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to transportation; establishing autonomous vehicles task force and 
1.3 	demonstration project to serve mobility needs of people with disabilities; 
1.4 	providing support for the task force; defining terms; appropriating money.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. DEFINITION OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE.
 1.7 	For the purposes of this act, "autonomous vehicle" is a vehicle equipped with 
1.8 	technology that has the capability to drive a vehicle without the active control or monitoring 
1.9 	of a human operator. Autonomous vehicle excludes a motor vehicle enabled with active 
1.10 	safety systems or driver assistance systems, including, without limitation, a system to 
1.11 	provide electronic blind spot assistance, crash avoidance, emergency braking, parking 
1.12 	assistance, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assistance, lane departure warning, or traffic 
1.13 	jam and queuing assistant, unless the system alone or in combination with other systems 
1.14 	enables the vehicle to drive without the active control or monitoring by a human operator.

1.15 	Sec. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES TASK FORCE.
 1.16 		Subdivision 1.Purpose. The autonomous vehicles task force is established to 
1.17 	design and supervise a demonstration project, analyze results, and report to the legislature 
1.18 	concerning issues related to the use by people with disabilities of autonomous vehicles 
1.19 	on public roads and highways.
1.20 		Subd. 2.Task force membership. (a) The autonomous vehicles task force consists 
1.21 	of 19 members, all of whom are voting members and who must be appointed by July 
1.22 	31, 2016, as follows:
2.1 	(1) two senators, including one member from the majority party and one member 
2.2 	from the minority party, appointed by the Subcommittee on Committees of the Committee 
2.3 	on Rules and Administration of the senate;
2.4 	(2) two members of the house of representatives, including one member appointed 
2.5 	by the speaker of the house of representatives and one member appointed by the minority 
2.6 	leader;
2.7 	(3) the commissioner of public safety or a designee;
2.8 	(4) the commissioner of transportation or a designee;
2.9 	(5) the commissioner of commerce or a designee;
2.10 	(6) one member appointed by the Minnesota State Council on Disability;
2.11 	(7) one member with experience in greater Minnesota paratransit administration 
2.12 	appointed by the commissioner of transportation;
2.13 	(8) one member with experience in metropolitan-area paratransit administration 
2.14 	appointed by the Metropolitan Council;
2.15 	(9) three members who are not public officials, and at least one of whom represents 
2.16 	the disability community, appointed by the senate majority leader;
2.17 	(10) three members who are not public officials, and at least one of whom represents 
2.18 	the disability community, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; and
2.19 	(11) three members who are not public officials, and at least one of whom represents 
2.20 	the disability community and at least one of whom has expertise in autonomous vehicle 
2.21 	technology, appointed by the governor.
2.22 	(b) The appointing authorities for the members appointed under clauses (9), (10), 
2.23 	and (11), shall to the extent practicable make their appointments to reflect geographic 
2.24 	balance across the state. The governor must select one of the appointees under paragraph 
2.25 	(a), clause (11), to serve as chair of the task force.
2.26 		Subd. 3.First meeting; chair. The member who is appointed to serve as the chair 
2.27 	shall convene the first meeting of the task force by October 15, 2016. The task force may 
2.28 	elect from among its members a cochair and any other officers the task force determines 
2.29 	are necessary or convenient.
2.30 		Subd. 4.Duties. The task force shall examine and report to the legislature 
2.31 	concerning ways in which autonomous vehicles can be designed, equipped, managed, and 
2.32 	deployed to serve the mobility needs of people with disabilities. To further this goal, the 
2.33 	task force shall design and supervise a demonstration project as described in section 3.
2.34 		Subd. 5.Authorization. The task force may solicit gifts, grants, or donations 
2.35 	of any kind from any private or public source to carry out the purposes of this act. All 
2.36 	gifts, grants, or donations received by the task force must be deposited in an autonomous 
3.1 	vehicle project account established in the special revenue fund. Money in the account is 
3.2 	appropriated to the commissioner of transportation for the activities of the task force and 
3.3 	implementation of the demonstration project.
3.4 		Subd. 6.Compensation. Public members of the task force shall receive no 
3.5 	compensation or per diem payments for participating on the task force.
3.6 		Subd. 7.Administrative support. The commissioner of transportation must 
3.7 	provide meeting space, administrative support, and staff support for the task force. The 
3.8 	task force may hold meetings in any publicly accessible location in the state.
3.9 		Subd. 8.Open Meeting Law. Meetings of the task force are subject to Minnesota 
3.10 	Statutes, chapter 13D.
3.11 		Subd. 9.Report. The task force shall report its findings and recommendations to 
3.12 	the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction 
3.13 	over transportation policy and finance. The report must include findings concerning 
3.14 	recommended legislation, administrative rules, and policies to utilize autonomous vehicles 
3.15 	in the provision of equitable, safe, and cost-effective transportation solutions to people 
3.16 	with disabilities both in the metropolitan area and greater Minnesota. The report must 
3.17 	analyze benefits, costs, business models, liability issues, legal implications, and safety 
3.18 	issues. The report must be submitted by December 31, 2018.
3.19 		Subd. 10.Sunset. This section expires June 30, 2019.

3.20 	Sec. 3. AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.
 3.21 		Subdivision 1.Goal. The goal of the autonomous vehicle demonstration project 
3.22 	is to identify means by which autonomous vehicles can best be equipped and utilized to 
3.23 	provide mobility service for people with disabilities.
3.24 		Subd. 2.Selection of vendors. The task force must select, through a contracting 
3.25 	method chosen by the task force, vendors to participate in the demonstration project. 
3.26 	Vendors must furnish, equip, and operate autonomous vehicles that meet vehicle and 
3.27 	safety standards identified by the commissioner of public safety, for testing purposes to 
3.28 	achieve the goal expressed in subdivision 1. Employees, contractors, or others designated 
3.29 	by vendors may operate the autonomous vehicles within the demonstration project. Before 
3.30 	beginning operation of autonomous vehicles within the demonstration project, each 
3.31 	vendor must submit to the Department of Public Safety an instrument of insurance, surety 
3.32 	bond, or proof of self-insurance acceptable to the department in the amount of $5,000,000.
3.33 		Subd. 3.Participants. The demonstration must include participants with 
3.34 	disabilities, including but not limited to developmental, mental, and physical disabilities 
3.35 	that prevent them from qualifying for a driver's license or from safely operating a 
4.1 	traditional motor vehicle. The project must include participants from the metropolitan 
4.2 	area and from greater Minnesota.
4.3 		Subd. 4.Autonomous vehicle operator. A person is deemed to be operating an 
4.4 	autonomous vehicle when the person causes the vehicle's autonomous technology to 
4.5 	engage, regardless of whether the person is physically present in the autonomous vehicle. 
4.6 	While participating in this demonstration project, a person may operate an autonomous 
4.7 	vehicle in autonomous mode if:
4.8 	(1) the person holds a class D license or its equivalent; or
4.9 	(2) the person does not hold a driver's license, but a person who holds a class 
4.10 	D license or its equivalent is present in the vehicle or is monitoring the vehicle from a 
4.11 	remote location during operation, and in either case, the licensed person is able to take 
4.12 	control of the vehicle's movements immediately, if necessary.
4.13 		Subd. 5.Liability. The original manufacturer, distributor, or dealer of a motor 
4.14 	vehicle converted to be an autonomous vehicle by a third party after delivery of the motor 
4.15 	vehicle by the manufacturer, distributor, or dealer, is not liable in any cause of action 
4.16 	brought by any person for damages due to an alleged motor vehicle defect caused by the 
4.17 	conversion of the vehicle to an autonomous vehicle, unless the defect is alleged to have 
4.18 	been present in the motor vehicle as originally manufactured.

4.19 	Sec. 4. APPROPRIATION.
 4.20 	$5,000,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of 
4.21 	transportation for the expenses of the task force and the demonstration project described in 
4.22 	sections 1 to 3, including expenses of administrative and staff support.

4.23 	Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 4.24 	Sections 1 to 4 are effective the day following final enactment.