Congress takes next steps on autonomous vehicle legislation

Oct. 27, 2017

The 115th U.S. Congress has struggled to move significant legislation in its first session. One of the few exceptions has been autonomous vehicle (AV) legislation.

The Obama Administration had struggled with clear guidelines for AV research and deployment, issuing only recommendations in September 2016. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced its most high-profile attempt for AV regulation, at that time, stating:

“This Policy is an important early step in that effort. We are issuing this Policy as agency guidance rather than in a rulemaking in order to speed the delivery of an initial regulatory framework and best practices to guide manufacturers and other entities in the safe design, development, testing, and deployment of HAVs. In the following pages, we divide the task of facilitating the safe introduction and deployment of HAVs into four sections:

• Vehicle Performance Guidance for Automated Vehicles

• Model State Policy

• NHTSA’s Current Regulatory Tools

• New Tools and Authorities”

Important for this discussion is the “Model State Policy." This was a nudge to states to allow the federal government to regulate AVs. NHTSA’s message to states was, “The Model State Policy confirms that states retain their traditional responsibilities for vehicle licensing and registration, traffic laws and enforcement, and motor vehicle insurance and liability regimes … The shared objective is to ensure the establishment of a consistent national framework rather than a patchwork of incompatible laws.”

On the one-year anniversary of the AV guideline release, the Trump Administration issued its AV guidelines, Automated Driving Systems (ADS): A Vision for Safety 2.0.

This fall the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee opted to package multiple AV bills and attempt bipartisan legislation that would be the next step for AVs. The final bill, the SELF DRIVE Act (H.R. 3388), passed the Energy and Commerce Committee by a vote of 54-0. Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) commented after the bill mark-up, “I truly believe the bipartisan bill-drafting process for self-driving legislation is an example of our committee at its best – working together to pursue the common goal of saving lives. Our aim was to develop a regulatory structure that allows for industry to safely innovate with significant government oversight – as safety must be the chief priority. And I believe today’s legislation strikes that critical balance.”

H.R. 3388 passed the floor of the House under a suspension of the rules allowing no amendments. Although the bill addressed numerous, important concerns like preemption, it failed to tackle the difficult issues of data access and, to a degree, cybersecurity as it relates to the vehicle aftermarket.

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee followed with their version of the SELF DRIVE Act entitled the S. 1885, The American Vision for Safer Transportation through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies (AV START) Act. The bill passed the committee by voice vote. Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) commented after the mark-up, “Today’s vote underscores the bipartisan desire to move ahead with self-driving vehicle technology. Senator Peters and the members of the Commerce Committee deserve credit for working together to move this bill forward toward Senate floor consideration and collaboration with our colleagues in the House of Representatives. The safety and economic benefits of self-driving vehicles are too critical to delay.”

One of the more senior minority members of the committee, Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), worked closely with Chairman Thune and followed Thune with a statement, "Self-driving vehicles will make transformative changes to improve mobility, reduce accidents and enhance safety for millions of travelers on our roads,” said Peters. “I appreciate the hard work of Chairman Thune and ranking member Nelson to craft this important legislation that will help advance these lifesaving and life-changing self-driving technologies and ensure that the United States remains at the forefront of vehicle innovation.”

Unlike the House, the final committee-approved Senate bill included language on issues directly related to the vehicle aftermarket. Prior to mark-up, a coalition of stakeholders sought a federal advisory committee to be formally established at NHTSA that would address data access and related cybersecurity issues.

The coalition is comprised of automotive aftermarket, insurers, car rental companies, consumer groups and other stakeholders. U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) offered an amendment, during the committee mark-up supported by these same stakeholders. The Inhofe amendment establishes a federal advisory committee at NHTSA that addresses data access and cybersecurity. The NHTSA committee will report back to both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee within two years. The committee approved the Inhofe amendment. To view the Inhofe amendment on data access and the establishment of a federal advisory committeem click here.

What will happen next? The Senate has not scheduled S. 1885 for floor consideration. If the bill passes the Senate, the federal advisory committee language would have to be agreed to by the House and Senate conference committee members. These members won’t be named until the Senate clears the legislation.

To view the Inhofe amendment on data access and the establishment of a federal advisory committee. click here.

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About the Author

Bob Redding is the Washington, D.C. representative of the Automotive Service Association and the President of The Redding Firm, a legislative consulting and advocacy firm located on Capitol Hill. A native of Edison, Ga., Bob has spent his professional life in Washington, D.C. He opened his firm in 1993 after working 12 years on Capitol Hill, including six years as a Chief of Staff in the U.S. House of Representatives and six years as an Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff in the U.S. Senate. He worked with Members of Congress serving on the Senate Appropriations, Energy and Natural Resources, and Budget Committees and the House Small Business Committee. Bob has served as national and state finance chair for a number of members of the U.S. House and Senate.

Bob has spent more than 20 years as the leading legislative and regulatory advocate of the independent automotive repair industry in Washington, D.C. He has spoken on behalf of the industry to the U.S. Congress and executive branches and has spent a tremendous amount of time educating members of the association and the industry at large about issues affecting the daily lives of automotive repairers. His expertise has led to presidential appointments to Federal Advisory Committees at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Bob is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon, Ga., and the National Law Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He is married to the former Laura Fallin of Moultrie, Ga., and they have three children. They reside in Alexandria, Va.