[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4661 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4661
To amend title 49, United States Code, to clarify the preemption of
State laws requiring a human occupant in an automated driving systems-
equipped commercial motor vehicle, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 23, 2025
Mr. Fong introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
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A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to clarify the preemption of
State laws requiring a human occupant in an automated driving systems-
equipped commercial motor vehicle, 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 Mobility Ensuring
Regulation, Innovation, Commerce, and Advancement Driving Reliability
in Vehicle Efficiency and Safety Act'' or the ``AMERICA DRIVES Act''.
SEC. 2. PREEMPTION OF STATE LAWS REQUIRING A HUMAN OCCUPANT IN AN
AUTOMATED DRIVING SYSTEMS-EQUIPPED COMMERCIAL MOTOR
VEHICLE.
(a) ADS-Equipped Commercial Motor Vehicle Operation.--
(1) In general.--Subchapter III of chapter 311 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 31139
the following:
``Sec. 31140. ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicle operation
``(a) In General.--A commercial motor vehicle equipped with a Level
4 or Level 5 ADS may be operated in interstate commerce without--
``(1) a human driver on board such vehicle; or
``(2) a remote human driver.
``(b) Regulations.--The Secretary of Transportation shall issue
regulations as necessary to implement this section.
``(c) Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to require a commercial motor vehicle to be equipped with an
ADS.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The analysis for chapter 311 of
title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after
section 31139 the following:
``31140. ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicle operation.''.
(b) Definitions.--Section 31132 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(12) `ADS-equipped vehicle' means a motor vehicle
equipped with an automated driving system.
``(13) `Automated driving system' or `ADS' means--
``(A) hardware and software that are collectively
capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task
on a sustained basis, regardless of whether such
hardware or software is limited to a specific
operational design domain;
``(B) includes only systems that meet the
definition of automation levels 3, 4, or 5 under SAE
International's J3016 recommended practice titled
`Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms Related to Driving
Automation Systems for On-Road Motor Vehicles', or
subsequent editions of J3016 adopted by the Secretary;
and
``(C) does not include systems that provide only
assistance to a human driver.
``(14) `Level 4' has the meaning of that term as provided
in the April 2021 edition of SAE International's J3016
recommended practice titled `Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms
Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road Motor
Vehicles', or subsequent editions of J3016 adopted by the
Secretary and refers to an ADS that is capable of providing
full driving automation under defined conditions with no need
for human intervention.
``(15) `Level 5' has the meaning of that term as provided
in the April 2021 edition of SAE International's J3016
recommended practice titled `Taxonomy and Definitions for Terms
Related to Driving Automation Systems for On-Road Motor
Vehicles', or subsequent editions of J3016 adopted by the
Secretary and refers to an ADS that is capable of providing
full driving automation under all conditions with no need for
human intervention.''.
SEC. 3. REDUCING REGULATORY OBSTACLES TO SAFE INTEGRATION OF AUTOMATED
DRIVING SYSTEMS-EQUIPPED COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES.
(a) Streamlining Regulations.--Not later than September 30, 2027,
the Secretary of Transportation shall address the applicability of
sections 350 through 399 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations to
ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles based on the advance notice of
proposed rulemaking published on May 28, 2019 (84 Fed. Reg. 24449)
that--
(1) amends such sections to provide for the integration of
automated driving systems into commercial vehicle operations,
including updating any such sections that reasonably apply only
to a human driver to clarify such regulations do not apply to
an ADS or to an ADS-equipped vehicles operating with an ADS
engaged and without a human driver on board, including hours of
service, drug testing, electronic logging devices, commercial
driver's license, and physical qualification requirements; and
(2) define the terms remote driver and remote assistance as
follows:
(A) The term ``remote driver'' means a driver who
is not seated in a position to manually exercise in-
vehicle braking, accelerating, steering, and
transmission gear selection input devices (if any), but
is able to operate the vehicle.
(B) The term ``remote assistance'' means event-
driven provision, by a remotely located human, of
information or advice to an AD2202S-equipped vehicle in
driverless operation in order to facilitate trip
continuation when the automated driving system
encounters a situation where remote assistance could
provide clarity.
(b) Ensuring Regulatory Parity for Commercial Motor Vehicles.--The
Secretary may not issue a regulation that unduly burdens motor carriers
operating ADS-equipped vehicles or discriminates against an ADS-
equipped vehicle relative to other commercial motor vehicles.
(c) Ensuring Regulatory Flexibility for Safety Technologies.--
Section 31113 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and (e) as
subsections (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and
(2) by inserting the following after subsection (b):
``(c) Exclusion of Automated Driving Technologies and Equipment.--
Width calculated under this section does not include automated driving
system technologies or equipment.''.
(d) Definitions.--The terms defined in section 31132 of title 49,
United States Code, apply to this section.
SEC. 4. REGULATORY INTERPRETATIONS.
Sections 392.22 and 393.95(f) of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations, and any related regulations shall be applied as if to
include cab-mounted warning beacons as a permissible warning device, as
proposed by the Exemption Application published on March 3, 2023 (88
Fed. Reg. 14665, Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0071).
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