Alexander Harris

acharris@theleafchronicle.com

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn — In an effort to stimulate additional prosperity for Tennessee, Clarksville Sen. Mark Green has filed legislation in the General Assembly that will allow autonomous cars to be produced and tested in the Volunteer State.

"Right now, Texas, Florida, California and Oregon are the only states that allow them. But those states don't allow Level 4, and I'm going to put a bill together that says when they meet certain criteria, they'll be allowed to be driven in the state of Tennessee and tested in the state of Tennessee," Green told The Leaf-Chronicle in a recent interview.

Level 4 autonomous cars are fully automated, with the driver not expected to control the vehicle at any time during the trip.

Green said he hopes by making Tennessee the first state to allow Level 4, it will encourage more automotive manufacturers to locate their autonomous car operations in the Volunteer State, and position the state to be a player in the next generation of auto industry growth.

"Because these companies that are going to manufacture them, and create all those jobs, are going to go where they can test their vehicles. So we have a tremendous opportunity — we're a no income tax state, we're located in a great spot, we've already got auto industry here. Why would we not bring the brains of the operation here, do R&D here?" Green said. "So my autonomous vehicle bill is going to be huge. And I think as far as prosperity goes, it's going to be a home run for Tennessee."

Green's bill would establish definitions that mirror industry operations and needs for manufacturing and testing "operator-required" and "no-operator-required" autonomous vehicles, as well as provide state oversight through Tennessee's transportation and safety departments to ensure public safety.

The measure also would create the legislative framework to register autonomous vehicles, establish taxation parity with vehicles currently on the roads and allow future mass transit applications.

Additionally, Green said Google — which recently announced intentions to locate a data center in Montgomery County at the old Hemlock Semiconductor site — had heard of his bill, and the company was excited to work with him on making Tennessee a leader in automated technology.

"Google has an automated car, Nissan has an automated car, Audi — you know we have a Volkswagen plant out in Chattanooga — they have an automated car. And these cars — I haven't ridden in one, but Senator Jim Tracy, the transportation committee chairman, went out to California and rode in one, and he said they were doing 100 miles an hour on a track and nobody was touching the wheel," Green said.

Green admitted that not everyone was as excited as he was about bringing autonomous cars to Tennessee, and said he'd encountered several people concerned about the dangers of driverless cars on the road.

However, Green said that when he encounters people who seem skeptical and fearful of the idea of autonomous vehicles, he compares the auto industry innovations to the innovations over the years in phone technology, which have led to us having "space-age technology" in the palms of our hands.

"Five years from now, where are we going to be with cars? So, let's not be a state that misses this opportunity," Green said.

The bill — Senate Bill 1561 — will have its first hearing in the General Assembly's upper chamber Monday in the Senate Transportation Committee.

The bill is not scheduled for a hearing in the House yet.

Reach government and education reporter Alexander Harris at 931-245-0742 and on Twitter at @ACHarris_Leaf.