<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Aptos;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#467886;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle20
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ligatures:none;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal> Just a quick update for everyone from Renee Gibson from the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association (AVIA)…No decision from the Kentucky Senate today.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>From Renee: Good afternoon,<span style='mso-ligatures:none'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Just a quick update that the House voted to override Governor Beshear’s veto and has sent the bill to the Senate to vote now. This is great news—now we just need the Senate to hold the line and override it. We think this could happen as early as 4 pm, but more likely later this evening or Monday. Thank you again for the good work in getting the word out about the benefits that AVs will bring to the Commonwealth. One more vote…!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Best regards,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Renee Gibson<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>AVIA<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none'>From:</span></b><span style='font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none'> Todd E. Stephens <todde.stephens@windstream.net> <br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, April 11, 2024 10:09 AM<br><b>To:</b> 'nfbk@nfbnet.org' <nfbk@nfbnet.org>; 'nfbktad@nfbnet.org' <nfbktad@nfbnet.org><br><b>Subject:</b> Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association (AVIA) - Kentucky Autonomous Vehicle Legislation<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Good Evening:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The National Federation of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind of Kentucky Affiliate supports the passage of HB7!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The bill, HB7, <span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;background:white;mso-highlight:white'>expressly enables the safe operation of autonomous vehicles (“AVs”) in Kentucky, </span>was vetoed by the Governor this past Friday. The 20 votes the bill received in the Senate is, of course, the bare minimum needed to override the veto. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>As NFB Kentucky Legislative Director, I will be sending a veto override letter on behalf of the Kentucky affiliate with full support from our national office to the 20 Senators who supported HB7 before the veto recess and get it to them ASAP. These letters will be sent out individually to the twenty senators. We will also be placing calls to see if we can gather more support to see this to the finish line. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Governor Beshear vetoed this particular legislation for the second year in a row. He says the legislature passed the bill too quickly. I suspect there is more to this story. Currently, there are twenty -nine states that have passed autonomous vehicle legislation in the US. This technology has been in existence since 2016 , so there is data available that does not indicate anything alarming with the operation of autonomous vehicles. There are states that have successfully engineered this technology. We must act responsibly in Kentucky, but this is not a brand-new concept. We must look at the future and there should be room for the new players in modified vehicle manufacturing in addition to the players that already exist in Kentucky. We do not want to get left behind nor miss out on opportunities for expansion that will result in new jobs in the Kentucky Commonwealth!. There are many other states that support this legislation like neighboring West Verginia and Tennessee as well as Arizona, and Texas.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I will keep you posted…Thank you for your time!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Respectfully,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Todd<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Todd E. Stephens, Legislative Director<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>NFB Kentucky<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="https://nfbky.org">https://nfbky.org</a><o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>