In late February, Florida State Senator Jeff Brandes (R-FL-24) introduced a bill authorizing the operation of low-speed autonomous vehicles (AV) on certain streets and roads. Long a champion of AV innovation and adoption, AUVSI commends Sen. Brandes for continuing to push these issues forward and establish Florida as a leader of autonomous technology.
 
This specific bill – SB 1620 – would permit the operation of autonomous delivery vehicles on roads with posted speed limits of 35 miles per hour (mph) or less, though they would be able to travel on roads with speed limits between 35 and 45 mph in certain circumstances.
 
When asked about the motivation behind his bill, Sen. Brandes said, “These are largely going to be delivery-type of automated vehicles. You will order your burrito, and it will come in an automated vehicle. Anything from Walmart will ultimately come in an automated vehicle delivered to your house via an app. You’ll press a button. It’ll open up a door, and you’ll be able to grab that pizza or whatever tchotchke you bought from Amazon that day directly from the vehicle.”
 
The senator  is clear in his goal of positioning Florida as a state welcome to AV testing and deployment, and in fact the state Department of Transportation is participating in the U.S. DOT AV TEST Initiative. Additionally, there are semi-autonomous robot dogs operating on a FL military base; autonomous shuttles ferrying to and fro around a college campus; and recently there have been self-driving vehicles transporting COVID-19 test kits around the state. Throughout these examples runs the current of increasing safety and efficiency through autonomous technology, and that is a goal AUVSI fully supports.
 
If passed, Sen. Brandes’ bill would lessen the barriers for in-state operation of low-speed AVs, and in the absence of clear federal policy on this technology he is right to work towards greater operating clarity. Currently, his legislation has sailed through two senate committees and is next slated to be heard in the Rules Committee. The House companion bill, HB 1289, is sponsored by Rep. Fiona McFarland and has just been scheduled to receive a subcommittee hearing, which we look forward to tracking.
 
AUVSI is growing our leadership in the autonomous ground vehicle space, and a resource we have recently made available on the organization website is our AV Policy Per State map. We hope to add SB 1620 to this map soon – we will stay tuned for a signature from Gov. DeSantis!