Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said Wednesday he wants to introduce and mark up autonomous vehicle legislation before the Columbus Day break, or Oct. 9, and remained hopeful he can resolve differences, namely with Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., over whether to include trucks in a bill. Thune told reporters after a hearing on self-driving trucks that he wants the bill to "strike the right balance" and be bipartisan. "There's a real need, I think, for Congress to act in this space," he said. "We'll make the ultimate determination on what the final draft bill is that we end up filing here soon."

Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said Wednesday he wants to introduce and mark up autonomous vehicle legislation before the Columbus Day break, or Oct. 9, and remained hopeful he can resolve differences, namely with Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., over whether to include trucks in a bill. Thune told reporters after a hearing on self-driving trucks that he wants the bill to "strike the right balance" and be bipartisan. "There's a real need, I think, for Congress to act in this space," he said. "We'll make the ultimate determination on what the final draft bill is that we end up filing here soon."

The public's sentiments on net neutrality and broadband regulation were disputed among panelists and audience members at the Telecom Policy Research Conference Friday. There was more agreement Congress is unlikely to legislate a solution soon and that increased broadband ISP competition would be helpful. Some said such competition wouldn't affect common-carrier regulation under the FCC 2015 net neutrality order that reclassified broadband as a Communications Act Title II service .

The public's sentiments on net neutrality and broadband regulation were disputed among panelists and audience members at the Telecom Policy Research Conference Friday. There was more agreement Congress is unlikely to legislate a solution soon and that increased broadband ISP competition would be helpful. Some said such competition wouldn't affect common-carrier regulation under the FCC 2015 net neutrality order that reclassified broadband as a Communications Act Title II service .

The Justice Department’s recent intervention in a whistleblower case against a UK retailer that allegedly split shipments on its U.S. imports to avoid duties “sends a clear message that this behavior will not be tolerated,” said the law firm Constantine Cannon, which represents the whistleblower, in a Sept. 8 press release. The July complaint alleges that Pure Collection and its executive Samantha Harrison deliberately split large orders so their shipments to the U.S. would fall under the $200 de minimis threshold, later raised to $800, despite knowing the practice violated customs rules.

The House unanimously passed by voice vote the Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research in Vehicle Evolution Act (Self Drive) Act (HR-3388), which would grant exemptions to automakers from safety standards to test more vehicles and would pre-empt state laws that the auto industry said would create a patchwork of regulations impeding the technology's development. Eyes now turn to the Senate Commerce Committee where Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., have been working on a similar bill. The panel plans a hearing on self-driving trucks Wednesday (see 1709060030). Thune told reporters he's “still working” on the bill with an eye to circulate a draft version as soon as later this week “to get response from members and the stakeholder community.” He hopes to file the bill within the next month and then “mark it up shortly after that.” Senate Commerce has a “little broader jurisdiction” than House Commerce does, so “there are some things that we could address in our bill” that HR-3388 couldn't, Thune said. But some Senate Commerce Democrats are raising “differences of opinion” on those additional provisions, including how the bill handles trucks, he said. “The main thing that we want to focus on is creating a pathway so that the research and development of this technology can proceed in the safest way possible,” Thune said: “We're looking at the full spectrum and trying to figure out the regulatory standpoint” for the federal and state levels. House passage of HR-3388 comes ahead of revised self-driving guidelines that Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao reportedly is to unveil Tuesday in Michigan. Neither the Department of Transportation nor the White House commented. HR-3388 was expected to pass since the House Commerce Committee advanced it by 54-0 in July (see 1707260057). Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, lauded passage in a joint statement. The bill also would impose privacy and security requirements for automakers' "collection, use, sharing, and storage of information about vehicle owners or occupants collected by a highly automated vehicle." Organizations including CTA, CTIA, Intelligent Transportation Society of America and TechNet applauded passage. Critics, including auto safety and consumer groups, said it would jeopardize safety (see 1709050064). Consumer Watchdog Privacy Project Director John Simpson said in a statement that pre-empting state laws "leaves us at the mercy of manufacturers as they use our public highways as their private laboratories however they wish with no safety protections."

The House unanimously passed by voice vote the Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research in Vehicle Evolution Act (Self Drive) Act (HR-3388), which would grant exemptions to automakers from safety standards to test more vehicles and would pre-empt state laws that the auto industry said would create a patchwork of regulations impeding the technology's development. Eyes now turn to the Senate Commerce Committee where Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., have been working on a similar bill. The panel plans a hearing on self-driving trucks Wednesday (see 1709060030). Thune told reporters he's “still working” on the bill with an eye to circulate a draft version as soon as later this week “to get response from members and the stakeholder community.” He hopes to file the bill within the next month and then “mark it up shortly after that.” Senate Commerce has a “little broader jurisdiction” than House Commerce does, so “there are some things that we could address in our bill” that HR-3388 couldn't, Thune said. But some Senate Commerce Democrats are raising “differences of opinion” on those additional provisions, including how the bill handles trucks, he said. “The main thing that we want to focus on is creating a pathway so that the research and development of this technology can proceed in the safest way possible,” Thune said: “We're looking at the full spectrum and trying to figure out the regulatory standpoint” for the federal and state levels. House passage of HR-3388 comes ahead of revised self-driving guidelines that Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao reportedly is to unveil Tuesday in Michigan. Neither the Department of Transportation nor the White House commented. HR-3388 was expected to pass since the House Commerce Committee advanced it by 54-0 in July (see 1707260057). Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, lauded passage in a joint statement. The bill also would impose privacy and security requirements for automakers' "collection, use, sharing, and storage of information about vehicle owners or occupants collected by a highly automated vehicle." Organizations including CTA, CTIA, Intelligent Transportation Society of America and TechNet applauded passage. Critics, including auto safety and consumer groups, said it would jeopardize safety (see 1709050064). Consumer Watchdog Privacy Project Director John Simpson said in a statement that pre-empting state laws "leaves us at the mercy of manufacturers as they use our public highways as their private laboratories however they wish with no safety protections."

Big business interests seek to “run out the clock” to avoid California legislators voting on broadband privacy rules based on the FCC rules repealed by President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress, privacy advocates told us this week. The California legislature has a Sept. 15 deadline to pass pending legislation, but the state's chamber of commerce asked the state Senate leader to hold the privacy bill and he hasn't scheduled a vote. Meanwhile, big wireless companies are pushing for passage of small-cells legislation, but local governments remain opposed and plan to take the fight to the governor's office, a local lobbyist said.

The House unanimously passed by voice vote the Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research in Vehicle Evolution Act (Self Drive) Act (HR-3388), which would grant exemptions to automakers from safety standards to test more vehicles and would pre-empt state laws that the auto industry said would create a patchwork of regulations impeding the technology's development. Eyes now turn to the Senate Commerce Committee where Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., have been working on a similar bill. The panel plans a hearing on self-driving trucks Wednesday (see 1709060030). Thune told reporters he's “still working” on the bill with an eye to circulate a draft version as soon as later this week “to get response from members and the stakeholder community.” He hopes to file the bill within the next month and then “mark it up shortly after that.” Senate Commerce has a “little broader jurisdiction” than House Commerce does, so “there are some things that we could address in our bill” that HR-3388 couldn't, Thune said. But some Senate Commerce Democrats are raising “differences of opinion” on those additional provisions, including how the bill handles trucks, he said. “The main thing that we want to focus on is creating a pathway so that the research and development of this technology can proceed in the safest way possible,” Thune said: “We're looking at the full spectrum and trying to figure out the regulatory standpoint” for the federal and state levels. House passage of HR-3388 comes ahead of revised self-driving guidelines that Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao reportedly is to unveil Tuesday in Michigan. Neither the Department of Transportation nor the White House commented. HR-3388 was expected to pass since the House Commerce Committee advanced it by 54-0 in July (see 1707260057). Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, lauded passage in a joint statement. The bill also would impose privacy and security requirements for automakers' "collection, use, sharing, and storage of information about vehicle owners or occupants collected by a highly automated vehicle." Organizations including CTA, CTIA, Intelligent Transportation Society of America and TechNet applauded passage. Critics, including auto safety and consumer groups, said it would jeopardize safety (see 1709050064). Consumer Watchdog Privacy Project Director John Simpson said in a statement that pre-empting state laws "leaves us at the mercy of manufacturers as they use our public highways as their private laboratories however they wish with no safety protections."

Trade executives agreed during a Sept. 6 conference that better alignment of NAFTA de minimis levels could benefit commerce, but offered different opinions on the best path toward uniformity. Jon Kent, who lobbies for the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA), said during the Air Cargo Industry Summit that there should be a “reconciliation” between de minimis thresholds in the U.S., Canada and Mexico but that the U.S. $800 level might not be the optimal benchmark. He suggested the Trump administration might even consider reducing the level to help close the gap between the U.S. standard and Canada’s $15 threshold and Mexico’s $50 benchmark. “You’re importing huge quantities of goods,” he said. “I don’t know how the administration can reconcile that big jump in imports with its own predispositions.”