SELF DRIVE Act Stalls After 12-11 House Vote as Waymo Expands

A narrow House vote, then eight months of silence

The headline sounds simple: a House committee passed the SELF DRIVE Act. The details are less tidy, and they show how far federal autonomous vehicle policy trails the robotaxis now carrying riders in U.S. cities.

On February 10, 2026, the Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 12 to 11 to send H.R. 7390, the Safely Ensuring Lives Future Deployment and Research In Vehicle Evolution (SELF DRIVE) Act of 2026, to the full committee.2 It was one of 12 motor vehicle bills taken up that day.2 The SELF DRIVE Act took most of the debate and came closest to failing. All 11 Democrats on the panel voted no, including Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky.1

The bill has not advanced since. Trackers in mid-October still list it as forwarded by the subcommittee and not passed by either chamber.32 One regional outlet said in September that the bill "has not moved since" the February vote.24 The full committee met in July and advanced 17 bills to the House floor, mostly on energy, health care and drug policy.37 The AV bill was not on that list. Congress is now in recess for the midterms and returns November 9.25 Reading the February vote as a committee "passing" the bill overstates where it stands. A subcommittee advanced it, and it has stayed there through the summer.

What the bill would do

Rep. Bob Latta of Ohio introduced H.R. 7390 on February 5. He has worked on AV legislation since 2017.910 At its center is a "safety case" requirement. Manufacturers could not sell, deploy or import an automated driving system, or a vehicle that uses one, without first documenting claims, arguments and evidence that the system does not pose an unreasonable risk.10 The bill lists competencies the system must show. These include staying inside its operational design domain, responding to vulnerable road users, emergency vehicles and school buses, obeying state and local traffic laws, and safely stopping in a "minimal risk condition" when needed.10

The bill would also turn NHTSA's crash-reporting order into law by creating a National Automated Vehicle Safety Data Repository, with quarterly reports on miles driven.10 It would let NHTSA approve limited commercial operations, including paid rides and freight, under testing exemptions.10 Supporters say it would also allow vehicles without manual controls, as long as occupants keep a way to stop the vehicle.4

The most disputed part is preemption. States and cities could not ban, fully or partly, the deployment of automated vehicles that have a safety case. They also could not require their own duplicate crash reporting.732 States would keep authority over traffic laws, registration, inspections and insurance.10 Latta now describes the bill mainly as a safety measure. He says it would make companies prove their vehicles are safe before deployment and would leave states their traditional powers.23

One detail shows the timing problem. As introduced, the bill told the Transportation Department to finalize the crash repository rule by September 30, 2026.10 That date has passed, and the bill is still in committee.

Where the reporting agrees, and where it splits

Coverage agrees on the basic arguments. Supporters, from Subcommittee Chair Gus Bilirakis to Michigan Democrat Debbie Dingell, said the country is running on a patchwork of state rules and old federal guidance.4 Rep. Craig Goldman said more than 30 state laws are creating confusion and slowing deployment.2 Competition with China came up repeatedly. Dingell and Goldman both cited it, and Latta repeated the point in an October speech in Ohio.423 The Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association said the bill gives companies the clear rules they need to grow nationwide.1

Opponents focused on safety and on states' rights. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety called the bill "deeply flawed" and formally opposed it.13 The National Governors Association raised concerns about its effect on state authority.1 Rep. Kevin Mullin of California said the data requirements add little to what NHTSA already collects. He argued that crash reports alone say little about relative safety, and that mileage figures mean little unless they count public-road miles.4 Rep. Lori Trahan said the partisan bill had moved away from an earlier bipartisan draft. She said the open questions on liability and preemption need to be settled.4

The main difference between accounts is tone. Trade coverage headlined broad support in the subcommittee.4 Policy-focused coverage stressed the party-line split and said the bill faces a hard road, especially in the Senate, where it would need Democratic votes.1 The second reading fits the record better. A bill that clears subcommittee by one vote and then misses a full-committee markup has stalled.

History is repeating, with one difference

This has happened before. In 2017 an earlier SELF DRIVE Act passed the House unanimously, but the Senate companion, the AV START Act, never reached a floor vote.7 Its broad preemption language was a main reason.7 This time the House vote is partisan from the start, so the bill has a weaker base than the version that failed in 2017.

The difference is what is happening on the ground. In 2017, robotaxis were mostly a prediction. Now Waymo runs a commercial driverless service in 15 U.S. metro areas with about 4,000 vehicles, more than 500,000 paid rides a week and roughly 4 million autonomous miles a week.11 It opened Denver, San Diego and Tampa on September 1, Las Vegas on September 14, and resumed San Antonio service on September 17 after a pause caused by flooding.11 Counts vary a little by source. One report put Waymo at 14 metros after the September launches.14 Another lists Denver and Las Vegas as waitlist-only, while San Diego, Tampa and San Antonio reached full commercial service on October 14.20 Waymo removed the San Antonio waitlist this week.16 Its stated targets are 1 million weekly rides and 20-plus cities by the end of 2026, and it lists more than a dozen U.S. cities as "up next," though those are intentions rather than launch dates.11 It has also reportedly lined up a $5 billion loan from Blackstone and PIMCO to fund growth.14

The company is building its case on safety data. Waymo says its record, covering more than 270 million autonomous miles, shows 82% fewer injury-causing crashes than human drivers in the same areas.29 Critics cite the other side. After the February markup, trade press asked whether the public would accept robotaxi injuries as Waymo and Zoox crashes added up.1

The states are not waiting

While Congress stalls, rules are being written at the state and city level, which is the patchwork the bill was meant to prevent. California approved Waymo's largest expansion yet in August, opening 18 counties to driverless rides, including on freeways and at night in rain and fog.14 The state also enacted SB 1246, which takes effect in July 2028. It requires remote operators to be in the U.S., sets dispatch rules for local incident technicians, and lets cities sue to enforce emergency-response requirements.26

Other places are less welcoming. Minneapolis's city council voted 7 to 6 to require a person in the driver's seat of robotaxis, which would be the first such rule in the country.30 Mayor Jacob Frey has vetoed it.20 In Washington, D.C., union members and rideshare drivers protested a council bill that would require 180 days and 250,000 miles of local testing before commercial permits. No vote has been scheduled.29 Virginia, which has no AV law at all, is preparing a DMV-run pilot framework for 2027. Waymo has been mapping Arlington and Alexandria in the meantime.2427

This local activity cuts both ways for the bill. It supports the industry's argument that a single national standard is needed. It also shows what the SELF DRIVE Act's preemption clause would override: a city like Minneapolis could not block deployment of vehicles with a federal safety case.7 That is the issue that sank the 2017 effort.

The likely path from here

The best remaining chance runs through surface transportation reauthorization. The previous highway law's authorizations expired September 30, 2026, which opened a possible vehicle for AV provisions.1 The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has already added a bipartisan framework for autonomous commercial trucks to its BUILD America 250 Act, which passed that committee 62 to 2.39 That truck framework borrows from the SELF DRIVE Act's safety-case model but adds labor-friendly provisions, such as requiring human operators aboard vehicles carrying hazardous materials or schoolchildren.39 Energy and Commerce leaders have said they will keep working to fold the SELF DRIVE Act into the final package. Meanwhile, the Senate Commerce Committee is reportedly drafting its own broader bill.39

Our reading: the robotaxi industry is not waiting for Congress. Waymo is expanding city by city and permit by permit, and those state permits, not federal law, are setting the terms. The SELF DRIVE Act would matter most for a national rollout of vehicles without manual controls and for limiting local restrictions. Its prospects depend on whether lawmakers return from the midterms willing to accept the bipartisan compromise on preemption and liability that Trahan and others asked for in February.4 Latta says he is confident a bipartisan path exists.23 There is no sign of that path in the House yet.