Issues
President Biden signed today an “Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad”. This executive order is the first step in the Biden administration’s sweeping plans for environmental reform over the next four years. In the order, President Biden reiterates his goal of for a carbon-free electricity sector in the United States…
On Thursday, the Biden Administration announced a slate of new appointments to the Department of Transportation (DOT). The majority of these announcements are deputy positions that do not require Senate confirmation and allow employees to get to work right away. Notable appointments include Steve Cliff, a former California air quality official, to run the National…
The National Highway Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA) published a final rule this week exempting 325 motor vehicles per year from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). The motor vehicles exempted must be copies of vintage cars produced by small manufacturers. To read the ruling, click here.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA) published a final rule today that is intended to streamline innovation of autonomous vehicles by making it easier to manufacture and test new vehicle technology. The final rule clarifies some ambiguities within the agency vehicle safety standards, such as the crashworthiness requirement for new vehicles. Since many…
This week, the second round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) opened access to Community Financial Institutions (CFIs). In a statement released today, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the opening of second round PPP loans to all eligible lenders. The second round of the PPP will open first to small lenders with less…
Today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a draft version of “Cybersecurity Best Practices for the Safety of Modern Vehicles”. This document is an updated version of a 2016 document of the same name and provides guidelines and recommendations from NHTSA to the automotive industry for improving vehicle cybersecurity and safety. Included…
The Department of Transportation (DOT) released today a comprehensive plan for autonomous vehicles. This document builds on previous work from DOT to regulate autonomous vehicle production and is organized into three main goals: promote collaboration and transparency, modernize the regulatory environment, and prepare the transportation system. To read the full document, click here.
President-elect Joe Biden is currently in the process of choosing his Cabinet members and other high-ranking government leadership positions. Some of these nominations must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, while others do not require a confirmation vote. Click here to see up-to-date nominations for the various Cabinet and leadership positions.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced this morning that the second round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) lending is set to open the week of January 11. The second round of PPP loans will be available to small businesses with less than 300 employees who have experienced a 25% reduction in revenue in any quarter…
The Minnesota Auto Dealers filed a suit against the state of Minnesota today in federal court. The lawsuit is an effort to stop the state from adopting harsher clean car standards set by the state of California. The auto dealers argue that the new standards would raise costs for consumers and hinder their choice of…