ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — State lawmakers were trying to pass a bill that would make it mandatory to have a person inside self-driving cars that are transporting goods or people.

House Bill 378 said the human operator would need to be physically present at all times and must be able to monitor the vehicle’s performance and intervene if necessary.

Discussion about this bill in the House Transportation Committee centered around the future and how self-driving cars will affect the economy.

“I know that safety is obviously primary in our concern, but there’s no doubt automation is coming. Artificial intelligence is coming. Jobs are going to start disappearing, and this does need to be dealt with,” one person in support said.

“Twenty-two states and counting expressly allow for AV deployment, and none of those states require a human driver to be in the vehicle. As a result, such a requirement would make New Mexico a significant outlier and forestall AV investment, development, and operations in your state,” said one person in opposition to this bill.

The bill was killed in committee on a seven to two vote.