Self-driving cars passed the state House, 58-6, Tuesday, but will have to make a detour back to the state Senate on the way to the governor’s desk.

The House tacked amendments on to Senate Bill 213, which will have to either approve or negotiate the changes with the House for the legislation to become eligible for Gov. John Hickenlooper’s signature.

Colorado Politics’ Mary MacCarthy took a close look at the issue last week.

“Automated vehicles can’t drive drunk.” said Faith Winter, D-Westminster, who sponsored the bill with Rep. Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village. “They can’t drive distracted. They can’t drive when they’re tired.”

She quoted grim state statistic: 605 people dead on Colorado roads last year, 2 million crashes and 90 percent attributed to human error.

The bill essentially gives automated vehicles a greenlight on Colorado roads, though some already exist.

According to the legislature:

“The bill declares that the regulation of automated driving systems is a matter of statewide concern, and, therefore, local authorities are prohibited from setting different standards for these systems than for human drivers. The use of automated driving systems is authorized if the system is capable of conforming to every state and federal law applying to driving. If not, a person testing a system is required to obtain approval from the Colorado state patrol and the Colorado Department of Transportation.”

The bill was sponsored in the Senate by Owen Hill, R-Colorado Springs, and Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City.

“I think Colorado is now poised to be at the forefront of innovation with respect to autonomous vehicles,” Rep. Dan Nordberg, R-Colorado Springs, who supported the bill, said in an initial debate Monday.

Rep. Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, put the pedal down on automated cars.

“This bill is about freedom,” he said on the House floor Monday, “the freedom to ride in the backseat of your very own car someday as it drives you where you’re trying to get. It’s about freedom from injuries and accidents that is caused by human error so frequently as we drive down our overcrowded roads.”

Lundeen leaned in toward the microphone and spoke more slowly on “overcrowded roads,” a legislative passion of his.