18 States Sign on to Airline Complaint Investigations

18 states have agreed to work with the DOT to investigate airline complaints. MOUs have been signed “with the Attorneys General of California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New York, New Hampshire, North Carolina, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, the United States Virgin Islands, and Wisconsin. In addition to the 18 attorneys general who have signed MOUs with the Department, another 7 attorneys general – Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington – have expressed an interest in doing so.”

New EV incentives

Washington State is reviving its $45 million EV incentive program and aiming them ”at people making less than three times the federal poverty rate, which is about $45,000 for a single person or nearly $94,000 for a family of four.” Western States have a much higher EV purchase rates than the rest of the US. California leads the pack at 25% of vehicle purchases are EVs, and in second place is Washington State at 18% EV purchase rate.

Route Fifty | States explore new incentives to lower the cost of EVs

Airline Complaints: See your State Attorney General

Under a new memorandum of understanding with the feds, state Attorneys General now have authority to investigate airline complaints. State Attorneys General have been asking for the power to investigate and report airline issues for several years.

Route Fifty | Under new partnership with feds, state AGs can investigate airline complaints

E Scooters: What have we learned in 8 years?

Studies have found that 1/2 to 1/3 of escooter riders would have walked anyway. On the whole, e-scooters “help reduce overall transportation emissions — often preventing 20 grams of CO2 emissions per mile ridden on a scooter.” Rider Safety issues are increasing 23% a year recently according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Route Fifty | 8 years into America’s e-scooter experiment, what have we learned?

Police Chases: Yay or Nay

Hawaii is considering HB2748 (2024 | HI) that would establish standards for high speed pursuits. In the last year, Florida, the District of Columbia, San Francisco and Washington state have rolled back high speed pursuit restrictions. A Police Executive Research Form report from late 2023 urged policies that allow for high speed pursuits only in cases of violent crimes.

Route Fifty | In reversal, more areas allow high-speed police chases