Special Edition No. 1

Idea 3 / Published edition text / Not adopted

Make Imperial County an autonomous-vehicle testing county

This suggestion appears in the published edition as a proposal for the Board of Supervisors and the Advisory Committee. It is not an adopted County resolution. The passage below is that published proposal.

WHEREAS, Imperial County holds thousands of miles of rural county roads, some of the widest open testing geography in California; and WHEREAS, the County’s own supervisors campaign on the need to “get jobs and industry back in our county”; and WHEREAS, the California DMV already licenses autonomous-vehicle testing through its permit programs, so the County’s role is invitation and assistance, not safety certification; now therefore be it RESOLVED that Imperial County (1) invites companies holding valid California DMV autonomous-vehicle testing permits to test on county roads; (2) directs staff to publish a county testing-corridor map, a single point of contact, and a 30-day response commitment for testing proposals; (3) asks each participating company for a published test plan, insurance documentation, CHP coordination, and a public incident log posted on a county page, so residents can see what is being tested, where, and what has happened — visibility by default; and (4) directs staff to report back within 90 days on the economic-development commitments, local hiring and facility investment that should accompany any testing program.

A county can put an invitation on the public record without pretending to issue the testing permit. On July 24, 2014, the Johnson County, Iowa Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a proclamation welcoming companies to test autonomous vehicles in the area as a public-safety and economic-development initiative. California's DMV, not Imperial County, issues California autonomous-vehicle testing permits. An Imperial County proposal could likewise invite permitted operators to discuss suitable county roads, safety coordination and local benefits, while leaving permit decisions with the State.