Latest news with #HouseBill2094
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
VDOT bets on AI to cut costs and keep Virginia roads smooth
Virginia Department of Transportation in Richmond. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce for The Virginia Mercury) With highway construction costs surging 68% nationwide since 2020, Virginia's transportation officials are turning to artificial intelligence to improve how the state estimates costs and manages pavement upkeep. The move comes as the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) faces increasing financial strain from rising material and labor prices, supply chain disruptions, fuel costs, and unpredictable weather events — all of which have made forecasting and budgeting more difficult. 'It is a great time for VDOT to investigate the potential for Artificial Intelligence to enhance the way we make decisions given our ongoing commitment to improving our data collection and management,' said Cathy McGhee, chief deputy commissioner for VDOT, in a statement to the Mercury. McGhee emphasized that with the cost of construction climbing, AI-driven insights could help maximize VDOT's investments in maintenance and repairs. 'Increasing construction costs make it even more important than ever to have data-driven decisions with respect to our investments,' she said. 'Although we believe that there are many areas where AI could be beneficial, these initial pilots will focus on cost estimation and pavement management, two areas where cost impacts could be significant.' Virginia maintains one of the largest state-controlled roadway networks in the country, covering nearly 60,000 miles of roads, in addition to at least 10,000 miles in cities and towns.. Over the past decade, 3,200 additional lane-miles have been added to VDOT's maintenance list. Pavement resurfacing alone has risen as much as 45% since 2019, and VDOT is responsible for a growing list of maintenance projects, including patching potholes, resurfacing roads, and mowing roadside vegetation. During a recent presentation to the Commonwealth Transportation Board's Subcommittee on Innovation, McGhee and VDOT staff outlined their goals for the AI pilots, emphasizing that the technology could provide deeper insights into the lifecycle of pavement beyond existing agency data. Gov. Glenn Youngkin's administration and state lawmakers have been actively preparing Virginia for AI integration across multiple sectors, including communications, health care, and security. However, AI's potential for misuse in politics has also led to increased scrutiny and regulatory efforts. Last year, Youngkin signed an executive order establishing standards and guidelines for AI use in government, forming a task force to help lawmakers create guardrails for responsible AI implementation. The governor is now considering some AI-related legislation passed by the General Assembly, including House Bill 2094, introduced by Del. Michelle Maldonado, D-Manassas, which would create requirements for developing, deploying and using high-risk AI systems, along with civil penalties for noncompliance. Other proposed measures would limit social media use for minors under 16, create enhanced penalties for AI-generated deepfakes used in fraud, slander, libel or defamation, and require political ads to disclose when artificial intelligence has been used. As Virginia awaits Youngkin's final decisions on AI legislation, Maldonado said she is particularly interested in the results from VDOT's AI-driven pilots. 'I think it's a very good start,' Maldonado said. 'I think it's a smart way to use AI, which helps to augment versus replace the human element, and provides better data analysis and hopefully traffic flow.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Topeka businessman asks state lawmakers to allow vending machine sales of vape products
Eric Kueser, a Topeka businessman who wants to expand his business of placing vending machines in bars or restaurants to sell e-cigarette products, urged a Kansas House committee on Tuesday to modernize state law to allow e-cigs to be sold in machines along with traditional packs of cigarettes. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Legislature's YouTube channel) TOPEKA — CBD merchant Eric Kueser launched a company to sell electronic cigarettes from vending machines and wants the Kansas Legislature to change state law to help the business flourish. Kueser urged lawmakers to amend Kansas statutes to end a prohibition on sale of e-cigarettes and related vaping materials in wall-mounted vending machines. The Topeka businessman's logic was that if merchants could sell these products over the counter at convenience stores, fairness dictated bars or clubs in Kansas ought to have the right to offer consumers the same products in a vending machine. He said enactment of the bill could enable him to expand his business from Topeka to Wichita, Lawrence, Manhattan and Junction City. In addition, he estimated there was a 60% profit margin on vape sales. 'This bill has absolutely nothing to do with CBD, THC or any other intoxicating products sold in CBD stories. This is just about nicotine,' Kueser said. He asked members of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee to consider the plight of a vape aficionado who didn't have materials necessary to consume liquid nicotine in vapor form while hunkered down at a bar. 'What would you prefer? You could get in your car after you've been drinking and go get a vape and come back to the bar. Or you could just walk over to the machine on the wall and buy one and then call for your Uber later to go home,' Kueser said. Under current state law, packs of 20 class A cigarettes were allowed to be legally sold out of a vending machine. The statute forbids cigars, smokeless tobacco as well as candy or 'other items' to be marketed via vending devices. House Bill 2094 would open the door to vending machine sales of vaping products to anyone 21 years of age or older. One estimate from an opponent of the bill indicated there might be 200 tobacco vending machines in operation statewide. However, Rep. Tom Kessler, the Republican chairman of the House committee and owner of Tom's Wine & Spirits in Wichita, said there were 57 licensed cigarette vending machines in Kansas. A trio of organizations — Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition, American Lung Association and American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network — opposed the bill. Kari Rinker, who chairs the policy committee of Tobacco Free Kansas, said inserting e-cigarettes in vending machines located at public places would entice underage Kansans to seek new ways to circumvent restrictions. She said youth forbidden from legally purchasing these products had been targeted by the tobacco industry's 'deceptive marketing and sales practices.' 'Offering broader and potential unassisted e-cigarette access via vending machines will result in easier youth access,' Rinker said. Megan Word, representing Cancer Action Network advocacy interests in Kansas, said e-cigarettes were the most used tobacco product among U.S. middle and high school students in 2024. Among students who used e-cigarettes, she said, 88% said they relied on flavored vape products and one-fourth indicated they used e-cigarettes daily. 'Nicotine poses unique dangers to youth in several notable ways,' Word said. 'Nicotine can harm brain development, which continues until about age 25. Youth show signs of nicotine addiction quickly, sometimes before the start of regular or daily use.' Sara Prem, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Kansas and Greater Kansas City, said it didn't make sense for Kansas to open a new pathway for acquiring e-cigarettes. 'Instead of creating additional distribution channels for e-cigarette devices, batteries and cartridges, we would recommend removing tobacco vending machines as a distribution channel entirely,' Prem said. Rep. Kirk Haskins, a Topeka Democrat, said he shared a concerned the bill could open a Pandora's box because marketers of cigars or smokeless tobacco might seek an exemption from the state's existing vending machine standard. He urged Kueser to weigh in on the potential domino effect. 'Respectfully,' Kueser said, 'they're going to get it if they want it. People who are going to use tobacco are going to use tobacco.'
