Bill Description: House Bill 528 would reduce some restrictions on the size and use of personal delivery devices. 

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Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market?

House Bill 528 would amend sections 40-2305, and 49-117, Idaho Code, related to personal delivery devices (in informal terms, a delivery robot). In Idaho, a personal delivery device is defined as "an electrically powered device that is operated on sidewalks and crosswalks and is intended primarily to transport property; weighs less than two hundred (200) pounds, excluding cargo; has a maximum speed of ten (10) miles per hour; and is equipped with technology to allow for operation of the device with or without the active control or monitoring of a natural person. A personal delivery device shall not be defined as a vehicle or motor vehicle in any section of the law, unless expressly so stated."

House Bill 528 would expand this definition by increasing the maximum weight from 200 to 550 pounds, specifying that the 10 mph limit only applies to sidewalks, and adding that they can be used on "the sides or berms of highways."

Taken together, these changes represent a modest reduction in regulations, which may allow for the increased use of personal delivery devices in Idaho. 

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