This week, the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Energy
and Commerce Committee signaled that they may be reviving efforts
to pass federal autonomous vehicle (AV) legislation. In a letter to
automobile manufacturers and other industry stakeholders, the
Committees sought input on AV-related issues. The Committees
indicated that they are working together on bipartisan AV
legislation and asked for industry input by August 23.
Prior efforts to pass federal AV legislation have been
unsuccessful to date. The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the
American Vision for Safer Transportation through Advancement of
Revolutionary Technologies (AV START) Act in 2017. That bill died after
the full chamber failed to take it up in December 2018, apparently
due, in part, to concerns regarding privacy, safety and
cybersecurity issues. Another bill, the Safely Ensuring Lives
Future Deployment and Research in Vehicle Evolution (SELF DRIVE) Act, passed the House without
opposition,
