Jose Salmeron — Jose Salmeron testified that he has spent 23 years driving trucks and has operated his own trucking business, at times running two or three trucks and employing people. He explained that he lost his license due to his immigration/status situation rather than any wrongdoing, which severely affected his life and financial stability. He said he once created jobs and owned homes, but now has only one truck with his son driving, and he came to the hearing to share his experience and support his fellow colleagues.
Omri Gill — Omri Gill introduced himself as a freshman at UT from Dallas and continued his testimony by describing his background and the Sikh community, including its truck drivers. He then criticized earlier speakers for demonizing those drivers, arguing that they were being judged without real interaction and that citizenship does not determine driving ability.
Natasha Cruz-Sanchez — Introduces herself as a truck driver, logistics professional, and advocate from Caguas, Puerto Rico, speaking for herself and truck drivers without a voice in the room.
truck drivers — Witness says truck drivers may not have a voice in the room and are being blamed unfairly.
Veronica Vieira — Introduces herself as a DACA recipient who has lived in the U.S. for over 30 years and obtained her CDL through college and English-language testing.
William Ayala — William Ayala is mentioned during the hearing as one of the next witnesses to be called and then again as one of the people waiting outside the room, indicating his involvement in the ongoing witness lineup/proceedings.
Wilbur Romero — Named as one of the next witnesses to be called.
Juan Espinoza — Juan Espinoza is mentioned as one of the next witnesses to be called and later as one of the people waiting outside the room, indicating his presence in connection with the hearing proceedings.
Ivan Salgaro — Named as one of the next witnesses to be called.
Weiper Romero — The witness gives his name, though it may be a garbled transcription of a similar name.
Avon Salgaro — Named as one of the people waiting outside the room.
Gilbert Romero — Gilbert Romero introduces himself as a Houston resident who has lived there for 25 years and held a CDL for 18 years. He explains that he has been out of work for about six months, his truck is currently stopped, and this has caused financial changes and hardship in his household.
Wilbur — The Chair thanks Wilbur for spending the day at the Capitol and sharing his story.
Julian Ayala — Julian Ayala introduces himself and explains that he has lived in Texas for 24 years and has driven with a CDL for 23 years. He says he has had no accidents or problems and does not understand why his driver’s license is being affected.
James Donovan — Named as a next witness to be called.
James Donovan — Testified on behalf of Teamsters leadership and Texas Teamster locals.
Bupender Cower — Named as a next witness to be called; spelling uncertain.
Pupinder Kor — Introduces herself as Director of Operations for United Six.
Daniel Woodward — Daniel Woodward is called to testify, identifies himself with the Texas Civil Rights Project, and begins testimony focused on drivers who lost their CDLs. He continues by urging reinstatement of CDLs and arguing that Texas needs drivers who have passed tests and can speak English, followed by committee acknowledgment of his testimony.
Captain Luna — Asked to explain the distinction between automated driving systems and remote driving operations in statute.
ADS automated vehicles — Explained as having redundancy in safety and detecting tire deflation as a defect.
Mark Williams — Referenced as someone the speaker spoke with about increased enforcement and a 10% reduction.
Steve Bruno — Named as one of the next panel witnesses to be called.
Renee Gibson — Named as one of the next panel witnesses to be called.
Renee Gibson — Her name is repeated as the next witness being called.
Renee Gibson — Invited to introduce herself and her affiliation.
Renee Gibson — Introduced herself as Vice President of Government Affairs for the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association.
Renee Gibson — Highlighted Texas's leadership and the AV industry's investment and mileage achievements.
Renee Gibson — Described Texas as a premier destination for AV deployment and referenced SB 2807.
Renee Gibson — Urged the committee to let the new framework mature before making further changes.
Renee Gibson — Concluded her remarks and offered to answer questions.
Renee Gibson — Explained that driver education topics evolve over time, including cell phone use and interactions with police.
Renee Gibson — Discussed driver education topics, including phone/map use and awareness around autonomous vehicles.
Renee Gibson — Continued discussing training standards and was then asked for her broader view of the bill and industry sentiment.
Renee Gibson — Said Texas is leading in AV deployment and noted 17 first responder interaction plans had been submitted.
Renee Gibson — Identified a few smaller issues around testing and possible conflicts with federal requirements, but said there are no major hurdles.
Renee Gibson — Was asked to discuss safety data and the fairest yardstick for comparing AV safety to human driving.
Renee Gibson — Argued that AV safety should be compared against human drivers and emphasized transparency and data.
Renee Gibson — Explained that AV companies must report certain incidents to NHTSA under the federal Standing General Order and emphasized transparency and public trust.
Renee Gibson — Said the federal incident data is available at the federal level and discussed efforts to codify and update the Standing General Order.
Renee Gibson — Called for codifying the Standing General Order and sharing federal reporting data with state DOTs to create a single information flow.
Renee Gibson — Continued discussing data reporting and was asked about best practices for redundancy.
Renee Gibson — Introduced a discussion of redundancy and said she would address it in two areas.
Renee Gibson — Explained that AV systems use redundant sensor suites, including cameras, LiDAR, and radar.
Renee Gibson — Described the minimal risk condition the vehicle enters when it cannot safely continue or when communications fail.
Renee Gibson — Explained that remote assistance provides another layer of redundancy if the system has questions about proceeding.
Renee Gibson — Gave an example of an edge case involving multiple flashing red lights during a power outage.
Renee Gibson — Clarified that remote assistance is not remote driving; it only tells the system whether it is safe to proceed.
Renee Gibson — Confirmed the distinction between remote assistance and remote operation before Senator Bettencourt's follow-up.
Renee Gibson — Said she is not aware of any AVIA member companies doing teleoperations.