Tina Bellon

(Reuters) – Autonomous delivery company Gatik said on Thursday that its truck will soon be on the road in Kansas. This was after the state gave the green light to Gatik and Walmart (NYSE.:) Inc.

Laura Kelly, Kansas Governor, signed Friday a bill that allows driverless vehicles to operate in Kansas.

Richard Steiner (head of policy at Gatik) told Reuters in an interview that they will “get our trucks on-the road now in Kansas” but would not comment on whether deliveries would be made for Walmart or other customers.

Gatik said that Walmart and Kansas lawmakers had held numerous conversations with them over the past year. Teamsters, a group of trial lawyers, and workers from Kansas had opposed the bill. These issues included insurance liability and coverage.

In a statement, the Teamsters stated that the bill had been passed quickly and allowed autonomous vehicles to continue operating “recklessly”, putting lives at risk and upsetting the current workforce.

Walmart has not responded to an immediate request for comment regarding the Kansas law. It sets minimum operating requirements like insurance limits and the ability of the vehicle to be moved onto the shoulder in the case of malfunction. The bill states that self-driving vehicles must be tested with human drivers for 12 months prior to becoming autonomous.

Walmart works already with Gatik Louisiana and Arkansas, where Gatik provides short-haul delivery in boxes trucks. Last year, the companies made it completely autonomous by removing safety drivers from an Arkansas delivery route.

Steiner explained, “It was important that we as national scalers ensure that those states who have not yet embraced autonomous vehicles are brought to the forefront of the progressive states,” Steiner added.

The majority of U.S. state legislatures have either passed autonomous driving legislation or an executive order. However, different rules allow for different degrees of automation.