119-s1798

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1798 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 1798

To prescribe standards for autonomous vehicles, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 May 15, 2025

 Ms. Lummis introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To prescribe standards for autonomous vehicles, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Autonomous Vehicle Acceleration Act 
of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress finds that--

    (1) rapid advancements in autonomous vehicle technology 
 present significant opportunities to improve transportation 
 safety, efficiency, and mobility;

    (2) current Federal motor vehicle safety standards were not 
 designed with fully autonomous vehicles in mind, creating 
 certification challenges and slowing design and production of 
 vehicles without drivers;

    (3) maintaining global leadership in autonomous vehicle 
 technology will enhance the competitiveness of the United 
 States, foster economic growth, and spur innovation across the 
 domestic manufacturing sector; and

    (4) the most advanced automated driving systems have 
 demonstrated safety records superior to human drivers in 
 comparable situations, indicating that maintaining regulatory 
 frameworks designed exclusively for human operators may delay 
 lifesaving technological implementation.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Autonomous vehicle.--
        (A) In general.--The term ``autonomous vehicle'' 
 means a vehicle equipped with an automated driving 
 system that is capable of performing the entire dynamic 
 driving task on a sustained basis without any expected 
 involvement by a human driver.
        (B) Inclusions.--The term ``autonomous vehicle'' 
 includes a vehicle equipped with a Level 4 or Level 5 
 automated driving system.

    (2) FMVSS.--The term ``FMVSS'' means a Federal motor 
 vehicle safety standard prescribed under 

section 30111

    (a) of 
 title 49, United States Code.

    (3) SAE international standard j3016.--The term ``SAE 
 International Standard J3016'' means SAE International 
 Recommended Practice entitled ``Taxonomy and Definitions for 
 Terms Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road Motor 
 Vehicles'', numbered J3016, and dated April 2021 (or a 
 successor standard adopted by the Secretary).

    (4) SAE terms.--The terms ``automated driving system'', 
 ``Level 4'', and ``Level 5'' have the meanings given those 
 terms in SAE International Standard J3016.

    (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
 of Transportation, acting through the Administrator of the 
 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

    (6) Volpe 2016 report.--The term ``Volpe 2016 Report'' 
 means the report of the John A. Volpe National Transportation 
 Systems Center of the Department of Transportation entitled 
 ``Review of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards

    (FMVSS) for 
 Automated Vehicles: Identifying Potential Barriers and 
 Challenges for the Certification of Automated Vehicles Using 
 Existing FMVSS'' and dated March 2016.

SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION OF VOLPE CENTER RECOMMENDATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall address, in accordance with subsection

    (b) , all certification challenges identified by the Volpe Center 2016 
Report relating to--

    (1) the presumption of a human driver; and

    (2) performance specifications, test procedures, or 
 equipment requirements that do not adequately account for 
 autonomous vehicle designs.

    (b) Regulatory Updates.--The Secretary shall, as the Secretary 
determines appropriate, develop, amend, interpret, exempt from 
application, or otherwise update any FMVSS requirement or other 
regulation, guidance, or interpretation under the jurisdiction of the 
Secretary to ensure that the certification and approval process for 
Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous vehicles is not unduly obstructed by 
assumptions of traditional human-driver designs, including requirements 
relating to seating arrangements, internal cabin configurations, window 
placement, driver controls, and other features, as determined by the 
Secretary.
            (c) Discretionary Compliance Determination and Rulemaking 
Authority.--At the discretion of the Secretary, and through such 
rulemaking as the Secretary determines to be necessary, including by 
establishing exemption processes for autonomous vehicles consistent 
with 

section 30114

    (a) of title 49, United States Code, autonomous 
vehicles may be determined to be in compliance with applicable 
regulations relating to motor vehicle safety, including any FMVSS.
            (d) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date described in 
subsection

    (a) , the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a report detailing steps taken by the Secretary 
under subsection

    (b) to address the challenges identified by the Volpe 
Center 2016 described in subsection

    (a) , including any new or revised 
rules or guidance issued by the Secretary.

SEC. 5. ROADMAP FOR FUTURE CONCEPTS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a roadmap to achieve 
commercial-scale deployment of Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous vehicles.

    (b) Requirements.--The roadmap required under subsection

    (a) shall--

    (1) support the design, manufacturing, and deployment of 
 Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous vehicles in the United States;

    (2) promote United States leadership in global autonomous 
 vehicle markets and supply chains;

    (3) identify ways to lower practical, technological, and 
 regulatory barriers to Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous vehicle 
 deployment;

    (4) recommend a risk hierarchy involving the use of 
 autonomous vehicles and a standard of safety for autonomous 
 vehicle use;

    (5) incorporate a supplemental technology assessment, which 
 shall--
        (A) identify and address--
            (i) new technologies and industry 
 developments since publication of the Volpe 
 2016 Report;
            (ii) emerging safety concerns specific to 
 autonomous vehicle operations; and
            (iii) recommended updates to the findings 
 or recommendations of the Volpe 2016 Report; 
 and
        (B) on completion, be used by the Secretary to 
 propose any amendments to any existing FMVSS that are 
 necessary to ensure clarity, consistency, and safety 
 for autonomous-vehicle designs; and

    (6) include any additional initiatives or strategies the 
 Secretary determines necessary to achieve the objectives of 
 this Act.
            (c) Supplemental Technology Assessment Interim Update.--Not later 
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a preliminary 
update describing progress, challenges, and next steps taken by the 
Secretary to carry out the supplemental technology assessment described 
in subsection

    (b)

    (5) .
            (d) Roadmap Updates.--The roadmap required under subsection

    (a) shall be updated periodically, as determined necessary by the 
Secretary.

    (e) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress, and make publicly available, the roadmap 
required under subsection

    (a) .
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