HB 1072 – Personal Delivery Devices
Authored by Rep. Holli Sullivan (R-Evansville)
Co-authored by Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie)
Provides for a personal delivery device to operate in Indiana under certain circumstances. Requires a personal delivery device operator to maintain certain levels of insurance coverage. Provides that a personal delivery device is exempt from motor vehicle licensing and registration requirements. Provides that a political subdivision may participate in the regulation of personal delivery devices.
Chamber position: Support
The latest: Heard in the House Roads and Transportation Committee on Tuesday; held as stakeholders collaborate on an amendment to be introduced at a future committee hearing.
Indiana Chamber action/commentary: The intent of the bill is to clear the path for robots to deliver personal property to residents and businesses in Indiana (e.g., parcels, food and beverages, legal documents, etc.).
Purdue University currently uses robot delivery on its Lafayette campus, namely for food delivery to its students. Since August 2019, there have been more than 45,000 deliveries with few instances of injury and none that has resulted in an insurance claim. FedEx and Amazon both have deployed delivery “bots” in a handful of markets and seek to increase their investments. All claimed that more robot delivery services will reduce CO2 emissions and improve delivery efficiency.
At the hearing, the Indiana Chamber and advocates from Purdue, FedEx and Amazon registered their support. Those who expressed concerns with the current version of the legislation: Accelerate Indiana Municipalities (AIM), city of Evansville and city of Munster – the latter two taking the official position of neutral.
In testimony, the Chamber argued that this bill will serve as a beacon to forward-thinking scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs, as well as incentivize more research and development investments in Indiana. Additionally, we testified that – while potentially taking jobs away from couriers – it will result in a net gain of jobs in terms of attracting and retaining talent and increasing manufacturing opportunities.
AIM and the cities represented at the hearing are concerned with the lack of local control over how, when and where the robots may be deployed. They are wary of potential liability should harm be caused to any person or property. In essence, they want more say in the regulation of robot delivery.
The Chamber, together with other advocates of the bill, stated that more local regulation would be the death knell to innovation in this industry and, ultimately, the deployment of robot deliveries. Companies will be reluctant to practice robot delivery if they must first obtain permits or licenses from 569 different Indiana municipalities and comply with various layers of red tape.
Resource: Adam H. Berry at (317) 264-6892 or email: aberry@indianachamber.com
