Autonomous car technology is decades away from being the industry standard, but Chicago aldermen fear waiting to regulate the industry would lead the city vulnerable.

For more than two hours Monday, members of a the City Council’s Finance and Transportation Committees discussed whether the city should proactively regulate autonomous vehicles, even as industry experts predict driverless cars won’t reach ubiquity until 2050 at the earliest. Finance Chair Ald. Ed Burke (14) called the meeting because he was concerned a state bill awaiting the governor’s signature would thwart the city’s efforts to locally regulate–or ban entirely–driverless vehicles on Chicago streets.