Senator John Jasinski on Wednesday moved Senate file 75 — a proposal to pilot autonomous or semi‑autonomous vegetation management machines on state highways — out of the Senate Transportation Committee, saying the project is intended to reduce traffic delays and improve safety.

The committee adopted the author's A‑1 amendment before taking testimony; the amendment replaced the bill’s reference to the general fund with an appropriation from trunk highway funds. Senator Jasinski then moved that the bill, as amended, be referred to the Finance Committee; the motion carried on a voice vote.

Why it matters: Proponents told the committee the pilot could reduce work‑zone exposure for crews and shrink long traffic delays caused by roadside maintenance. Committee members also raised questions about where the funding decision originated and how the pilot would affect existing workers.

Testimony and technology details: Al Johnson, president of BOT Crew, a Duluth firm, described machines his company builds for construction and solar farms and said the technology “can be remote‑piloted or provide fully autonomous vehicle movement.” Andrew Archer, BOT Crew’s chief roboticist and CEO, said the system uses lidar and multiple cameras and that remote pilots could monitor several machines from a safe location, allowing operators to switch between piloted and autonomous modes.

Archer and Johnson explained capabilities the test machines demonstrated: multi‑day runtime on a single fuel tank, lidar‑based obstacle detection about 80 meters ahead, 360‑degree camera coverage, and attachments such as seed spreaders. Archer said operators could program machines to avoid or to identify areas with pollinator habitat such as milkweed.

Committee reaction and next steps: Senators asked whether the machines would perform full mowing or only trimming around guardrails; the testifiers said machines are designed to do all on‑ditch mowing with interchangeable compliant mowing attachments. Senator Jasinski emphasized the pilot is not intended to replace employees: “I’m not looking to replace employees because they can be deployed to do many many things,” he said, and urged the committee to pass the bill and refer it to Finance.

Votes and formal action: The A‑1 author’s amendment was adopted by voice vote. Senator Jasinski’s motion to move Senate file 75 to Finance as amended carried on a voice vote. The committee did not record a roll‑call tally in the transcript.

What’s next: The bill will go to the Finance Committee for further consideration and any appropriations decisions. The pilot’s scope, rule requirements and procurement details would be resolved in later committee work if the bill advances.