House Subcommittee Advances Autonomous Vehicle Legislation

Automakers would be permitted to manufacture up to 100,000 autonomous vehicles per year under a bill advanced by the House Digital Commerce Subcommittee following a Wednesday markup. Passed by voice vote, the bipartisan bill would prevent states and localities from regulating design, development and testing of such vehicles, giving the federal government the sole authority. Automakers and supporters have testified that a patchwork of state laws would stifle advancement (see 1703280005). Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, said states and localities will still determine insurance requirements, titling, registration and traffic laws. He said raising the cap on federal motor vehicle safety standards exemptions would "dramatically increase the amount of data and information on safety and performance, all without sacrificing safety." Ranking member Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., said the draft bill is going in the right direction. She wants to reach bipartisan agreement on all sections before a committee markup next week, saying "state pre-emption and exemptions remain major issues to resolve. I cannot endorse this legislation until we have bipartisan agreement." A House subcommittee spokeswoman emailed that the full committee would like to see the bill marked up before August but nothing is scheduled. Rules state that a markup must be announced 48 hours in advance, she added.