Becomes an integral part of the upper structure. Im hoping this conversation will provide a chance to examine policy solutions spurring the safe transition and implementation of new technologies into our roadways and share success i know many of you have already had. In colorado with regard to Autonomous Vehicles, we have been working hard to seek a better balance with the promotion of innovation and protecting Public Safety with our department of transportation, the state patrol cooperated with the first fully successful autonomous beer delivery and the nation. Appropriately in colorado. Just another reason why colorado is a great place to live. We are working towards smart infrastructure to communicate with fully Autonomous Vehicles driving on colorado roads. Projects mark 25. Smart ramp meters to help the system operate at peak efficiency. It has been used already successfully in australia to increase capacity. The u. S. Is having this introduced now. I think we are beginning to see early success in our state. Just a few of the things we are doing. I know many of you we would hear discussions of what youre working on. I will turn it over to governor ducey, who i have the pleasure of serving with as edc leadership this year. Look forward to hearing about the great work you are administration is doing as well to spur innovative Infrastructure Investments. Thank you governor hickenlooper. It is great to be here today, and secretary chao we are thrilled you were able to join us. I will revise and condense my remarks so we can have the maximum amount of time with you. I know so many governors here have questions around infrastructure and the opportunities. In arizona we are embracing innovation that exists around transportation and infrastructure. We look at these as opportunities in transportation, in water and in telecommunications. We are doing our best to lay the groundwork for a Bright Future in all of those categories. An arizona especially water is an incredible concern. We built the fifthlargest metropolitan area in the middle of a desert. It is because we are good with water and with the 16 year drought, all the effectiveness it has been an incredibly wet winter and i hope it continues. We continue to look for ways to conserve and augment our water supply. We are proud in arizona today we use less water than we did in 1957, and our economy has grown 19 times since then and six times in terms of population. It is something we planned for and something we think about every day and something that really outlasts the term of any elected official. I can tell that water is not a great concern in other parts of the country by the water pressure in the hotel rooms. Uberso want you to know and lyft are two organizations and technology in terms of ridesharing apps we embraced in arizona. We like to think of ourselves as the kitty hawk for driverless technology. Not only do we have uber testing in arizona, we also have gm and google through an enterprise called waymo. I had the opportunity to drive in three Autonomous Vehicles from three different companies. This is a technology. And will be way here soon and something that will affect all of our states and terms of how we will handle it. I think in arizona we have been fortunate because we have been focused on regulation and safety, but not in overly aggressive regulation. We were able to put 86 million additional dollars into our transportation budget last year on some focused projects, but transportation funding is something i think is a question all the governors have as to what federal spending is going to look like in the next four years. On telecommunications we are paving the way for 5g technology that would give us faster download speeds and bring this infrastructure out to our rural areas. One other thing i want to talk on an arizona that i think is something we like we are seeing all across the country and the sharing economy, uber, lyft, airbnb is something topical in arizona with city and local government having power to regulate industries. We have gone out of her way in arizona to make sure we are as welcoming as possible both from a state and local perspective. We put a bill out that state governments are not allowed to regulate a new industry as if it were an existing industry without explicit legislative authority to do that. I will give you a quick example. When i first came into office the super bowl was going to be held in arizona and the first month. We heard from our director of weights and measures that his plan was to staying ub sting uber during the super bowl and shut them down for regulations written for taxicabs. We quickly got a new director of weights and measures and we lifted those regulations. We dont want to see the heavy hand of government being used in it overly aggressive way to stop these new innovative ideas that will provide such conveniences for our citizens. That along with p3 we are focused on in the state of arizona. Im excited to hear from the secretary. Thank you governor ducey. Now in brief introduction. This could well be 20 pages long. Our new secretary of the u. S. Department of transportation elaine chao when i was the mayor of denver. She was the secretary of labor. They were doing some of the most innovative work and labor certainly ever done at that time. We worked together on two different projects, and her staff really was a treat. We will have a great partner i think. Secretary chao has long and distinguished Career Public Service and the private sector and the Nonprofit Sector as just about anyone i know. Prior to serving at the department of transportation, secretary chao served as the secretary of labor from 2001 to 2009 where he focused on increasing the competitiveness of the workforce in the global economy, but also piloting competitive programs and grants to really get states to compete and try to create innovation on their own. Secretary chaos extensive record includes positions, and this is a remarkable remarkably broad array of a career. Ceo of united way of america, the director of the peace corps, deputy secretary of the u. S. Department transportation, chairman of the federal maritime commission, maritime administrator and white house fellow specializing in transportation and trade. Chao has worked as Vice President of syndications at bank of america and a transportation Bankruptcy Court at citicorp. Hopefully we will have a vigorous dialogue here. Without further and do, i will turn it over to secretary chao who was sworn in just three weeks ago. Sec. Chao thank you very much, governor. [applause] sec. Chao i have to say governor when you are running to my resume i was thinking to myself, these people are going to think i cant hold a job. [laughter] sec. Chao thank you very much governor ducey and thank you to all of you for inviting me to discuss innovation and infrastructure with you. We really appreciate the opportunity. But i also have to give a big shout out to my home state governor, governor medvedev and of kentucky. Of kentucky. In the new Automated Technologies have the potential of dramatically changing commercial transportation and private travel, expanding access for millions within our borders. The private sector is driving these innovations, working with cities and states like yourselves. In addition to the commercial applications Automated Technology can also help expand access to transportation for underserved populations, especially the elderly and disabled. I know governor hickenlooper and governor ducey have written riden in Automated Vehicles and have been leaders in the technology. We want to thank you for your interest and leadership. Over 35,000 people perished in traffic crashes in 2005. This is a 7 increase over the previous year. Fatalitiesows 94 of are due to human error. Fatalities and crashes. Automated technology has the potential to help eliminate human error and reduce crashes and fatalities significantly. There is a lot at stake in getting this technology right. To promote research and development the department has so far proved 10 applications for Automated Vehicle proving grounds. Drones are another Exciting Technology. Companies are testing numerous commercial applications for drones. Ubs is testing a delivery drone in florida. Play anes also Important Role in safeguarding our infrastructure. Rail lines already use them for safety checks on equipment and tracks. They also have been used in Emergency Response in United States for more than a decade. In kentucky, firefighters are using drones with thermal cameras to fight fires, locate the lost, or help in Disaster Recovery efforts. Drones can also be used to inspect pipelines for leaks, protect First Responders from accidents involving derailments, and hazardous materials. And also help save lives in many emergency situations. In september of last year, the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a federal Automated Vehicle policy. This is a set of guidelines, not a set of rules, and this administration is evaluating this guidance and will consult with you and other stakeholde rs as we update it and amend it to ensure it strikes the right balance. We will also be asking for your input at the faa to develop standards and regulations to ensure that drones can be safely integrated into our countrys airspace. We want very much to work with you and other stakeholders to ensure the federal government is a catalyst for a safe, effective technology. Not an impediment. America is a beacon throughout the world because of our innovation, our creativity, and our forwardlooking manner which is so much a part of what america is all about. I want to work with all of you and all of your states on emerging technologies, but i also want to issue a challenge to silicon valley, detroit, and all other Auto Industry hubs to step up and help educate a skeptical public about the benefits of Automated Technologies. One of the biggest obstacles to deploying this technology is consumer acceptance. And as regulators and Public Policy makers we need to Work Together to educate and address legitimate public concerns about safety and privacy. So once again let me conclude and look forward to working with all of you. The future is so full of promise and we have got to use every tool available to modernize infrastructure so that our countrys economy will remain competitive, grow and produce good paying jobs for americas families. I look forward to our discussion. Thank you. [applause] i will open it up for questions from the governors. Bright light everywhere. Question, and i in colorado and around the country a lot of skepticism about Autonomous Vehicles, cars and trucks. The humant described error involved in accidents and fatalities is 94 . Thats astonishing. How can we confront that skepticism . And also we have Autonomous Vehicles in accidents where the technology breaks, how do we make sure that is not the skepticism increases although overall we are saving lives . Sec. Chao i tried to address those issues by saying technology can do so much to improve the competitiveness of our country, the quality of life of our residents and citizens. But there is great angst and anxiety on the part of many people about emerging technologies. How they work, what they really mean, what it means for privacy. I think this is a wonderful that each of your states we all take a collective effort to recognize the very legitimate concerns and begin to talk about them, raise them up so we have a National Consensus and how to proceed with some of these regulations that we all entrusted with him for many and promulgating. Governor . Thank you for joining us. There has been a lot of talk in anticipation around infrastructure plan out of the administration. We are still a little on the preliminary side of that, but any insight you have for this group on the infrastructure plans coming out of the administration. Sec. Chao the administration is just getting started. We are beginning we are in discussion about various infrastructure plans. We are open and welcoming ideas. Tomorrow the president will be speaking with you and looks forward to discussing with you your ideas about infrastructure. This is a pivotal time for our country. This is a transformational time. There is no better time in my recent memory than now for the recognition that the infrastructure of our country is critical. And i believe many stakeholders involved in a Critical Infrastructure plan are in place. There seems to be bipartisan support for addressing the infrastructure needs of our country. So if not now, when, and i believe the time is now and you will have a great discussion with the president tomorrow. Governor wolf . Pennsylvania. I would just like to say to the two guys on either side of the, there is a lot of Autonomous Vehicle research being done pittsburgh, pennsylvania with uber and google and forward has made a big investment ford has made a big investment. Sec. Chao i have actually been to pittsburgh. We would love to have you back. On the infrastructure, this is a time when a lot of focus on what we have not done over the past years. I think the administration is focused on infrastructure is important because we have a lot of catching up to do. By some estimates 4 trillion nationally. It also seems to me a good time to do a reset on infrastructure. You are talking about Autonomous Vehicles, but there are other things other nations have done in infrastructure like hice derail, pipelines highspeed rail, pipelines. While not completely autonomous actually help the Transportation System in ways the oldfashioned roads and bridges dont. How should we be that pennsylvania is the keystone state with a lot of eastwest traffic already. There seems to be a lot of Infrastructure Investment that can help the whole country. How can we as a commonwealth proceed to help baby think more broadly about this . Sec. Chao i should have mentioned high speed rail. We have a number of very impressive highspeed rail projects around the country. Most recently i received a visit in theople involved dallashouston highspeed rail. Another one for the governor of other states a well. I think that highspeed rail is part of the thinking of the future of Transportation Systems of our country. This is not to say they are without problems. Eminent domain is a huge issue with any of the highspeed rail projects. We also have desires to make certain parts of existing infrastructure, rail infrastructure, high speed rail that is more difficult. Primarily because highspeed rail needs a straight away. To be able to gain the speed necessary to qualify it for highspeed rail. There has been a lot of talk in recent years about amtrak and how do we increase the speed without sacrificing safety. In the northeast corridor. I think these are very valuable and very legitimate concerns. We should be just addressing them. They may not be currently applicable, but as we talk about a future Infrastructure Project and a future infrastructure for our country i think there should be consideration. There needs to be consideration of different kinds of travel alternatives. For commercial and passenger use. And technology will enable us to achieve a futuristic look. That is much, much more in the future. We are thinking about shortterm infrastructure needs. And researcher needs and ultimately longerterm. The president is very futuristic looking. Hes thinking about a Transportation System, and infrastructure system that includes not only transportation but other aspects of Critical Infrastructure that will make us more competitive internationally. You will hear more about that from him tomorrow. There will be other aspects. Thinkl of these issues i our exciting, interesting, but they also present challenges. If we are to be futuristic and looking towards the future, we need to discuss them in a way that may not yield consensus right now but we need to be talking about them. You and your various states have an excellent opportunity to start some projects on a trial basis and see whether they work or not. The purpose of a meeting like this is to study best practices where we learn from you, you learn from one another, and there is a lot of valuable information to be shared. Great. I have governors snyder, baker. The governor of rhode island . Nice to see you again and think you for joining us. Nice to have another woman around the table. First a comment and then a question. I agree with you that much of the concern or trepidation as a relates to Autonomous Vehicles comes from consumer either misunderstanding or lack of information. Although i will also say i think we have some work to do with our Public Safety departments. I know in conversations with my state police force who patrol our roads, there is a lot of questions coming from them as well. How will this work . Worke extent you could with us as we go through this process to really integrate Public Safety and the discussion of Autonomous Vehicles, i think its a lot of work to do. I would welcome any guidance and advice on that. Wondered if you could offer us any guidance around the administrations view in your view of the role of user fees as a source of revenue for transportation projects. In rhode island last year i worked with the legislature to pass a multibilliondollar transportation package and i was totally opposed to increasing the gas tax. We already have a high gas tax. We as a component of our plan instituted a user fee on large trucks. A toll for 18 wheelers and above. I am curious to know where in your plan they are planning user fees coming into play as an alternative for raising taxes. An particular with passenger fees at airports. We all know the airports need to be rebuilt. Thank you. Sec. Chao everybody wants a better Transportation System, but very few people want to pay for it. That is the big conundrum. Ways for a number of improving Critical Infrastructure. The pay fors are going to be hard. If we want to come together and snd some ways. The pay fors will not be an animus. Some will like them. Some leaders on the other part will not like it and propose their own. There will be a lot of andussion about pay fors that will be a tremendous challenge. I think if we all decide they are things we think are very important, we all need to come to a National Consensus about how to do that. The pay fors are very difficult. Governor snyder of the great city michigan. Thank you for being with us, madam secretary. I am excited to accept your challenge as a partnership opportunity. We have been doing a lot of great things with the department of transportation on this topic already, given that michigan is the world center of the Auto Industry and emergen emerging world center of a mobility industry. We have been doing a project for several years now doing vehicle to infrastructure communication with traditional vehicles. We have over 3000 vehicles on the road. Thanks to a partnership with your department, we are implemented smart highways. Putting infrastructure sensors in and Communication Systems that are not been seen before. Also thank you for being one of the 10 proving grounds. We are to have the best proving ground in the country. We are creating the American Center for mobility. These are great opportunities. You are right. We need more education to our consumers. One of the things we did this last year in north America International auto show, we get a drink industry week but we created mobileid. We had over 200 start up Companies Taking the entire cobol hall. They wanted to expand that to the user experience. People can see this wonderful, Exciting Technology and how the conference is going on around the world convergence is going on around the world. This aint the with opportunities to give people more exposure to see how wonderful they can try these vehicles. They can have real life experiences. I look forward to that partnership. The other thing i would like to partner with you on, we are already starting initiatives to deal with the Insurance Industry issues, other regulatory issues, the health care issues, and also the retraining issues. What this could do for Truck Drivers and other issues. We need to be looking further about what Career Opportunities as we see these Autonomous Vehicles emerge. How do we make sure were playing far enough ahead so we dont create job loss opportunities for people. But we do it in a smart way. Thank you for your leadership on this. I am fired up to work on this topic. Sec. Chao thank you for your comment. Governor baker and then Governor Bevin, williams and hutchinson. Thank you very much, governor hickenlooper. Just two quick thoughts on the Autonomous Vehicle issue. The first is we have a number of companies located in massachusetts who work on this. Wasnt particularly interesting is i thought we were doing this because we had a lot of smart people to know a lot about technology. It turns out they are locating in massachusetts because our roads suck. [laughter] they basically said if he can figure out how to move Autonomous Vehicles around the commonwealth of massachusetts and the city of boston, we can do it anywhere on earth. We also had a lot of conversations with folks in the department of defense about this. Interest, atge least i think there is a huge interest there and how Autonomous Vehicles and autonomous flight devices, all the way up to airplanes, and may enden fighter jets, up being autonomously driven at some point. Im just curious to know what you think about the safety question, is there a big role for the department of defense in terms of knocking down barriers on that . Governor snyder brought up my second question. I cant urge you enough. We would love to work with you on this one. Autonomous vehicles after minutes opportunity, but at the same time there is bigtime workforce issues associated with that. I think its important for us as a country to be thinking are enough ahead so we dont end up creating just a tremendous amount of Economic Hardship along the way. Sec. Chao to answer your two questions, the army corps of engineers has a huge role to play in this infrastructure discussion we are having. Number two, on the issue about technology displacement, as a former secretary of labor im very concerned about that. We do have to transition people and keep that in mind. Thank you. We will try to keep these questions or we will run out of time. We will sit Governor Bevin for last whether you like it or not. The governor of north dakota . Met of secretary, it is refreshing to hear about your technology on the front end of this. One of the implications of Automated Technology in vehicles is going to change how we think about infrastructure. We have a culture in america built for the last 70 years run automobiles. And with automobiles the dollar value of parking in america on an cricket basis is larger than the dollar value of all the vehicles. The average city has between 10 and 12 parking spots for every automobile. When it comes to the sharing economy, we will not have that need. One of the things im worried of gods we will spend 1 trillion on infrastructure around yesterdays transportation models as opposed to tomorrows because we will have these costs and maintenance costs that will be a burden on taxpayers. We have to think about that. States been asking for have a lot of flexibility on health care prayed in transportation dollars, it often comes it percent federal, 10 stake, 10 local. Im 100 local control because i know the cities were not in the havehe government would to. D them moving more cars faster often has a detrimental to. Impact on local sales tax, local property and ruins the local tax basis and spreads their cities out. If we want small, Efficient Government and use of taxpayer dollars, have to have small, efficient footprints in our cities, even our girl areas. That is one thing to think about. Rural areas. That is one thing to think about. In north dakota, Autonomous Vehicles, if youre writing the rules, make their make sure there is exclusion for offroad because it keeps our farmers in productive. Thank you very much for your comments. Governor hutchinson, from the great state of arkansas thank you, madam secretary. Thank you for joining us. I agree that the state matching formula with the federal government, federal highways money, please continue to rely on the states to set priorities in highway construction. That is very important. There is been some debate. You asked for an infrastructure list, that these decisions be made at the national level, but the states need to set the priority in terms of highways in our areas. Remember that its about the other projects, as you know and mentioned the corps of engineers straight if we simply channeled and it has been an approved project by the corps of engineers, deep in that channel for the Arkansas River from 9 to andeet, expense commerce, it gives us great opportunity. Its been a core project that has been idle for some time. Topics there,of though we appreciate your support from all of the states. Thank you. Great. The most patient governor in the room. Thank you for your gracious comments, but thank you for your long service to this nation and your willingness to step back up again on this front. A quick question, you mentioned both short term, midterm, and longterm goals and visions for transportation. One of the shortterm ones is that many goods are moving about on the existing infrastructure is aging even where it is drug shirley rounded his coming functionally obsolete. Bridges Northern Kentucky with cincinnati, the bridge corridor. There is anywhere 4 of the nations gdp mulls over this. Its outdated, 50some years old. As one example of others that exist around the nation. What would you tell us as governors who have these as of the infrastructure like that, from ast be updated shortterm, what kind of expectation should we have from your administration for this administration and your cabinet for interface . The old days of expecting the federal government to build a new bridge, those days are gone. It will require collaboration from a state like ourselves and ohio and the federal government. As we think about the shortterm, immediate needs, how best can we, any of us, work with your cabinet, and what advice would you give us as to how to move forward on shovel ready type projects . Im not surprised that the governor from kentucky would mention the bridge. Somet is emblematic of much of the deteriorating infrastructure. , we hopee in to office to find new ways to innovate, to find additional resources, but also some of the existing infrastructure of which you have talked with the Previous Administration on. Some of the answers will remain the same as well. As we go forward, we do look forward to publicprivate partnerships. That is not the answer for everything, because there is a cost to that. And there is consumer lack of aceptance for toll roads in certain areas. I think all of us have a responsibility. New, innovative ways to supplement, augment that which is available, and in so doing, educate the public. I think we as Public Policy andrs can only go so far, if our population of our states are not with us, we are limited in what we can do. The same thing is at the national level. I can only go so far as you will allow me. I would depend on you in finding acceptance within your states on the ways to go forward as well. I look forward to working with you. Thank you. What a Great Foundation to start with. I can speak for everybody here, we look for it domestically to building on that foundation, and your vision of a Transportation Future is one that everyone of us share. We would love to be active partners with you and make sure together we get it done. Sec. Chao thank you so much. Thank you for the opportunity to be here. [applause]