Issues
General Motors (GM) announced plans this week to invest $27 billion on electric and autonomous vehicles through 2025, $7 billion more than the amount they promised before the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, GM will launch 30 electric vehicle models by 2025 around the world, with over two thirds available in North America. These, among other electric…
Yesterday, the White House released an update on the administration’s efforts related to COVID-19, including an update on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and loan forgiveness. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published clarifying documents for the treatment of taxing expenses in the case of a PPP loan that has not been forgiven by the end…
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formally voted on Wednesday to break up a band of airwaves previously used for transportation safety. The Department of Transportation opposed this change, arguing that reallocating these airwaves would put safety at risk. Under the new plan, the FCC will repurpose 45 MHz of the band spectrum to use…
This week, the Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA) announced their organizational goal of 100 percent electric vehicle sales by the end of the decade. ZETA is a coalition of 28 businesses across the United States, including utility groups like Pacific Gas and Electric, automobile industry stakeholders such as Tesla and Uber, and many others. ZETA…
The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has released their bill for the FY 2021 budget. This bill allocates $25.6 billion for the Department of Transportation in discretionary budget authority. In the following explanatory document for this bill, the committee provides report language for the telematics issue. The report…
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Rules meets on Tuesday to markup H.R. 8294, the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020. This bill is intended to expand apprenticeships by establishing the structure and responsibilities of the Office of Apprenticeship and the National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships within the Department of Labor. Additionally, H.R. 8294 would…
November 3 concluded a long and contentious election season, and results are coming in. The presidential election is still too close to call, with a significant number of mail-in and absentee ballots still being counted. President Donald Trump leads in crucial swing states Pennsylvania and North Carolina, while former Vice President Joe Biden leads…
Last night, Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly passed Question 1 “Right to Repair” ballot initiative, 75 percent to 25 percent. This proposal expands upon the previously passed Right to Repair initiative. expanding the scope to include telematics information. This was a hotly contested initiative, and both sides spent millions of dollars in campaign advertising. Advocates said…
This week in Congress, talks continue between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, other Republican congressional leaders, and members of the Trump Administration to finalize another stimulus package for COVID-19 relief. Speaker Pelosi and Secretary Mnuchin have been negotiating for weeks over the size and scope of the bill. If…
Pennsylvania Senate Bill 745 was defeated on the House floor yesterday evening in a vote of 96 to 105. If passed, SB 745 would have updated the rules for emissions testing in the regions of Pittsburg and Philadelphia for vehicles with a model year of 1996 or newer.