Legislation that would legalize personal delivery devices to be used on Pennsylvania roadways cleared the state House of Representatives on Monday on a near party-line vote.
The bill, approved 105-97, sets the rules for operating these autonomous devices that are already permitted in 11 other states to provide same-day delivery services or business-to-business deliveries from point of sale to the buyer.
Because the House amended it, it will go back to the Senate for concurrence on those changes. The Senate passed an earlier version of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Ryan Aument, R-Lancaster County, by 31-19 vote.
While Democratic lawmakers called it a job killer that would present a safety hazard to children and pedestrians, Republicans touted it as an emerging technology that the state should embrace.
These personal delivery devices allow for contactless delivery which has become a bigger concern due to the coronavirus pandemic, said House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre County. He said it presents an opportunity to take advantage of technology and create jobs.
“These PDDs are designed to create new jobs, high-tech new jobs – high-tech machine experts, software developers, remote operators,” he said. “We need to be supporting every type of growth in our economy that we can if we are to bring Pennsylvania back and make us a competitive state amongst the rest of the states in the nation.”
Democrats including Rep. David Delloso, D-Delaware County, urged his colleagues to oppose the bill, saying it will eliminate jobs of delivery drivers while making delivery companies richer.
Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton County, called it a “slap in the face to the drivers and the delivery people who have been a lifeline to our communities through the worst months of the pandemic.”
But Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford County, described this innovation as a device that will supplement the package delivery drivers, not replace them. He said this bill “creates parameters for this growth to occur. We let the private sector do the work, to do the innovating but we as government have to create parameters to make sure that it is done safely and efficiently.”
Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.
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October 20, 2020 at 05:32AM
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Bill legalizing robot deliveries on Pa. roadways clears the state House - PennLive
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