WED AM News: Self-driving vehicle legislation comes under fire in committee hearing; Bill would bar former PSC members from working for utilities for three years

February 4, 2026

— Legislation to regulate fully autonomous vehicles in Wisconsin came under fire during an Assembly committee hearing, as members of the public raised concerns around safety and reliability.

Meanwhile, authors of AB 848 said Wisconsin is falling behind the dozens of other states with similar regulations on the books.

Rep. Dave Maxey, R-New Berlin, testified yesterday before the Assembly Committee on Transportation, arguing Wisconsin’s unique weather conditions provide an opportunity for proving self-driving vehicles can operate safely in the state.

“If we can’t test these vehicles in all weather conditions, like snow and rain, and with different vehicle types, unfortunately we won’t know that they are safe,” he said.

The legislation would establish an autonomous driving safety board within the state Department of Transportation as well as a permitting process for companies that want to operate such vehicles in Wisconsin, Maxey said.

Operators would have to meet various registration and insurance requirements under the bill’s framework, and the board would be able to designate specific highways for autonomous vehicle operation, he said. The board would also have the power to require safety reports on these vehicles as well as suspend or revoke permits when safety issues occur.

Maxey argued the bill would provide clarity by allowing self-driving vehicles to operate “without facing a patchwork of local restrictions” while also establishing strong safeguards for the technology.

But several speakers from the motorcyclist rights and safety group Abate of Wisconsin spoke against the bill, questioning self-driving vehicles’ ability to detect motorcycles, bicyclists and pedestrians. Members of the organization argued public roadways aren’t the appropriate testing ground for these vehicles.

Mike Halvorson, a board member for Abate of Wisconsin, said he’s very concerned about his friends and family in the state being “used as an experiment” to improve autonomous vehicles.

“I don’t understand why we have to participate,” he said yesterday. “If other states like Minnesota and Michigan are willing to let their citizens [be] used as guinea pigs, there are winter roads, all these conditions in Wisconsin are duplicated in these other states … the data that gets harvested to make these systems better can be got from them.”

The bill’s co-sponsor, Sen. Rachel Cabral-Guevara, said she views fully autonomous vehicles as “the way of the future,” arguing the technology will be coming to Wisconsin at some point.

“Right now, 35 other states have this in some capacity. We do not,” she said.

Maxey also said autonomous vehicles have the potential to expand transportation options for those who currently lack reliable access, pointing to older adults, people with disabilities and residents of rural areas.

“At the same time, this bill helps Wisconsin stay competitive,” he said. “States like Texas and California and Minnesota are already using testing, or deploying autonomous vehicles and seeing benefits from early regulation.”

Watch the video.

— Rep. Amanda Nedweski has rolled out legislation that would keep members of the Public Service Commission from working for utilities or transmission companies soon after leaving the agency.

The Pleasant Prairie Republican yesterday accused the PSC of having “repeatedly sided with utility companies over ratepayers” under the Evers administration while Wisconsin residents are struggling with rising energy prices.

Gov. Tony Evers’ appointees to the three-person commission have approved $2.2 billion in utility rate increases since becoming a majority on the body, a WisPolitics review from late last year found. While that’s seven times what former Gov. Scott Walker’s nominees approved over a similar period, Evers’ picks have also approved a slightly smaller profit for utilities in those cases.

Nedweski’s announcement, which references the $2.2 billion figure, says her bill “helps rein in the Commission and ensures that PSC members are focused on protecting ratepayers, not auditioning for their next job.”

The legislation comes after former commissioner Rebecca Valcq left the agency in early 2024 and was hired by Alliant Energy within six months, Nedweski’s release notes. Valcq is currently the president of the Madison-based utility’s Wisconsin energy company.

Nedweski argues LRB-5931 “addresses this revolving-door problem” by preventing former commissioners from accepting executive-level positions with public utilities or transmission companies for three years.

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for Alliant Energy said the inquiry should be directed to the PSC. The agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the bill.

See the release.

— Senators on the Committee on Agriculture and Revenue delivered a split vote on a bipartisan bill regulating hemp-derived THC products.

Two Republicans and Democrat Sen. Mark Spreitzer of Beloit joined bill sponsor Sen. Patrick Testin, R-Stevens Point, in voting for SB 682 yesterday, while two Republicans and two Democrats voted against.

The bill would create a new definition in state law for “hemp-derived cannabinoids” and set testing, labeling and potency rules, as well as prohibiting sales of hemp-derived cannabinoids to persons under the age of 21.

Committee members also approved an amendment that would increase the allowable potency of THC beverages and add potency limits for edibles compared to the prior version of the bill. The amendment also would shield hemp product sellers from liability – akin to alcohol laws – and make sure insurers can provide coverage for businesses in the hemp market.

Sen. Sarah Keyeski, D-Lodi, raised concerns about the “fast and furious” pace of the bill, including the last-minute amendment, and unsuccessfully attempted to delay the committee vote by a week. She was among the nays on the committee vote.

Testin said in response that he was trying to meet the Senate majority leader’s directive to exec bills out of committee by yesterday so they can be voted on in the next floor period.

He also said that the bill before the committee was “not likely going to be the end product” and that he was continuing to meet with stakeholders to clean up the bill.

“As it stands right now, if we do nothing, we are going to continue to operate without probably any regulation whatsoever,” he said.

The bill is one of several proposals regulating Wisconsin’s hemp market introduced this session, along with a GOP-authored proposal to effectively ban intoxicating hemp products, a standalone Dem bill imposing a minimum-21 age limit on hemp purchases, and a principally GOP-backed bill sponsored by one Senate Dem creating a “three-tier” regulatory system akin to state alcohol laws.

Dems have also introduced a bill to fully legalize marijuana, which is distinct from hemp and illegal under Wisconsin law. Republicans have rejected prior pushes for full legalization, however.

The flurry of state legislation was prompted by legislation signed by President Donald Trump late last year that, effective in November, closes a federal “hemp loophole” in the 2018 Farm Bill allowing for the sale of unregulated, intoxicating hemp products.

Even with state legislation, almost all of the hemp products manufactured and sold in Wisconsin will again be illegal under federal law, though a December report from the Congressional Research Service noted it “remains unclear if and how” federal law enforcement will enforce the new prohibition.

Testin said after the hearing that he hoped federal officials would “come to their senses” and noted that the federal government had not targeted marijuana growers, though marijuana is grown and sold in several more states.

— At least 2 million cancer patients have now used Exact Sciences’ Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score test, the Madison-based diagnostics company announced.

The test was created more than 20 years ago by Genomic Health, a California firm that is now a subsidiary of Exact Sciences after it was acquired in 2019 in a $2.8 billion deal.

Of the 2 million cancer patients that have used the test, Exact Sciences says it has helped 1.6 million patients avoiding “potentially unnecessary” treatment. The company says use of the Oncotype DX test has “resulted in average lifetime savings of approximately $10,000 per patient in the U.S. healthcare system” based on an economic analysis.

The test is used to guide treatment for patients with certain early-stage forms of breast cancer, based on personalized genetic assessment. Exact Sciences says it’s the only test of its kind that can predict distant recurrence risk as well as potential chemotherapy benefit.

Brian Baranick, the company’s general manager of precision oncology, says the test has helped “move breast cancer care beyond a one-size-fits-all treatment decision” by supporting patient decisions about their own cancer treatment.

“We’re proud of the test’s ongoing impact on precision oncology worldwide,” he said in a statement.

See the release.

— Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman says the system will need new spending to establish itself as a leader in the field of AI.

“We want to make sure we’re investing at a level that is financially sustainable, that is financially prudent, but at the same time understanding that further investments in artificial intelligence are going to be necessary for us to help Wisconsin be in a leadership position in AI,” Rothman told WisPolitics in an interview late yesterday afternoon.

He characterized his remarks as a “prelude” to tomorrow’s Board of Regents meeting, where Rothman is set to introduce a presentation and discussion on AI within the university system.

Rothman did not give a dollar figure for the system’s additional spending on AI, but cited new faculty hires for UW-Madison’s Research, Innovation and Scholarly Excellence Initiative as an example of the new investment the system would need.

UW-Madison plans to hire approximately 250 new faculty members for the RISE Initiative, according to the program’s website. The school has recruited approximately 50 faculty members for its AI focus area as of 2025.

“That investment has a return, ultimately, because they then attract research dollars to continue to do their work, raise the stature of the university, raise the stature of the Universities of Wisconsin and raise the stature of the state of Wisconsin,” Rothman said. “That’s what we’re here to do.”

Other AI-focused initiatives in the university system include a planned new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence in Madison. It will be the first new college on that campus in more than 40 years. There’s also the Connected Systems Institute at UW-Milwaukee, set up with the help of a $2.7 million gift from Microsoft.

Madison’s Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies also announced in November a $1.5 million research partnership with QTS Data Centers, architects of the aborted DeForest data center proposal.

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