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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7377 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7377
To inform consumers about the capabilities and limitations of partially
automated vehicles, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 4, 2026
Ms. Schrier introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To inform consumers about the capabilities and limitations of partially
automated vehicles, 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 ``Know Before You Drive Act''.
SEC. 2. CONSUMER EDUCATION.
(a) Prohibition on Misleading Claims.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, a manufacturer may not
make any representation that implies or would otherwise lead a
reasonable person to believe that--
(1) a partially automated driving system, or a feature or
component of a partially automated driving system, is an
automated driving system or a feature or component of an
automated driving system; or
(2) a partially automated driving system, feature, or
component--
(A) can function as an automated driving system; or
(B) otherwise has capabilities beyond what the
system, feature, or component is able to perform.
(b) Notification Upon First Sale.--
(1) Notice required.--Not later than 2 years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, a manufacturer or dealer may not
sell a partially automated vehicle or partially automated
driving system without providing a clear and conspicuous notice
to the purchaser that describes the following:
(A) That the vehicle is equipped with a partially
automated driving system.
(B) The features of the partially automated driving
system.
(C) The capabilities and limitations of the
partially automated driving system, including the
operational design domain.
(D) The subtasks of the dynamic driving task the
driver is expected to perform while the partially
automated driving system is performing part of the
dynamic driving task, including the following:
(i) The object event detection and response
subtask.
(ii) Supervising a partially automated
driving system.
(iii) Responding to a request to intervene
or to a performance-relevant system failure.
(2) Information.--Before delivering a partially automated
vehicle to a dealer, a manufacturer shall provide the dealer
with the notice described in paragraph (1).
(3) Compliance.--
(A) Dealer.--A dealer is not in violation of this
section if a manufacturer fails to provide the notice
pursuant to paragraph (2) or the notice is not in
compliance with paragraph (1).
(B) Manufacturer.--A manufacturer is not in
violation of this section if the manufacturer complies
with paragraph (2), but the dealer does not provide the
notice required in paragraph (1) to a purchaser of a
partially automated vehicle.
(c) Updates.--Beginning 2 years after the date of the enactment of
this Act and upon the proffer to an owner, lessee, or driver of a
partially automated vehicle of a software update that materially
affects the performance of the dynamic driving task, including an over-
the-air update, a manufacturer shall provide a clear and conspicuous
notice to such owner, lessee, or driver that describes each material
change to the capabilities and limitations of the partially automated
driving system with which the vehicle is equipped.
(d) Enforcement Authority.--
(1) Enforcement by nhtsa.--Section 30165(a)(1) of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by inserting after ``31137,''
the following: ``subsections (a), (b), or (c) of section 2 of
the Know Before You Drive Act,''.
(2) Enforcement by commission.--
(A) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A
violation of subsections (a), (b), or (c) shall be
treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or
deceptive act or practice prescribed under section
18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15
U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
(B) Powers of commission.--The Commission shall
enforce subsections (a), (b), and (c) in the same
manner, by the same means, and with the same
jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all
applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated
into and made a part of such subsections. Any person
who violates such subsections shall be subject to the
penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities
provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act.
(C) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act may
be construed to limit the authority of the Commission
to enforce any other provision of law.
(3) Enforcement by states.--
(A) Civil action.--In any case in which the
attorney general of a State has reason to believe that
an interest of the residents of such State has been,
may be, or is adversely affected by an act or practice
in violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c), the
attorney general may bring a civil action in the name
of the State, or as parens patriae on behalf of the
residents of the State, in an appropriate district
court of the United States to--
(i) enjoin such act or practice;
(ii) enforce compliance with this Act;
(iii) obtain damages, civil penalties,
restitution, or other compensation on behalf of
the residents of the State;
(iv) obtain reasonable attorneys' fees and
other litigation costs reasonably incurred; or
(v) obtain such other legal and equitable
relief as the court may consider to be
appropriate.
(B) Notice.--Before filing an action under this
paragraph, the attorney general of the State involved
shall provide to the Commission a written notice of
such action and a copy of the complaint for such
action. If the attorney general determines that it is
not feasible to provide the notice described in this
subparagraph before the filing of the action, the
attorney general shall provide written notice of the
action and a copy of the complaint to the Commission
immediately upon the filing of the action.
(C) Authority of commission.--
(i) In general.--On receiving notice under
subparagraph (B) of an action under this
paragraph, the Commission shall have the
right--
(I) to intervene in the action; and
(II) upon so intervening--
(aa) to be heard on all
matters arising therein; and
(bb) to file petitions for
appeal.
(ii) Limitation on state action while
federal action is pending.--If the Commission
or the Attorney General of the United States
has instituted a civil action for violation of
subsection (a), (b), or (c) (referred to in
this subparagraph as the ``Federal action''),
no State attorney general may bring an action
under this paragraph during the pendency of the
Federal action against any defendant named in
the complaint in the Federal action for any
violation of subsection (a), (b), or (c)
alleged in such complaint.
(D) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act may
be construed to prevent the attorney general of a State
from exercising the powers conferred on the attorney
general by the laws of such State to conduct
investigations, to administer oaths or affirmations, or
to compel the attendance of witnesses or the production
of documentary and other evidence.
(e) Amendment of Automobile Information Disclosure Act.--
(1) Safety labeling requirement.--Section 3 of the
Automobile Information Disclosure Act (15 U.S.C. 1232) is
amended--
(A) in subsection (g)(4)(B), by striking ``; and''
and inserting a semicolon;
(B) subsection (h), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(i) if such automobile is equipped with a partially automated
driving system or an automated driving system, information (in plain
language or graphic icons that allows a purchaser to easily compare
between automobiles equipped with such systems), including a short
description of each such system that--
``(1) is sufficient for a consumer to identify the specific
subtasks of the dynamic driving task the system is intended to
perform;
``(2) indicates whether driver supervision is required
during the execution of that subtask by the system;
``(3) describes the conditions that would place the system
outside of the operational design domain, including any
geographical restriction, time-of-day restriction, and road and
environmental condition restriction; and
``(4) indicates whether such automated driving system
requires additional service cost or fee, and if so, the service
cost or fee on an annual basis.''.
(2) Definitions.--Section 2 of the Automobile Information
Disclosure Act (15 U.S.C. 1231) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(i) The terms `automated driving system', `dynamic driving task',
`operational design domain', `partially automated driving system', and
`purchaser' have the meaning given those terms in section 2(h) of the
`Know Before You Drive Act'.''.
(f) Regulations.--Not later than 9 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall issue
regulations to ensure the labeling requirements under subsection (i) of
section 3 of the Automobile Information Disclosure Act, as added by
subsection (d), are implemented within 2 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(g) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed
to exempt an individual from liability under applicable common or State
law.
(h) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Automated driving system.--The term ``automated driving
system'' means hardware and software that are collectively
capable of performing the entire dynamic driving task on a
sustained basis, regardless of whether such system is limited
to a specific operational design domain.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(3) Dealer.--The term ``dealer'' has the meaning given that
term in section 30102 of title 49, United States Code.
(4) Dynamic driving task.--
(A) In general.--The term ``dynamic driving task''
means each real-time operational and tactical function
required to operate a motor vehicle in on-road traffic.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``dynamic driving task''
includes the following:
(i) Controlling the lateral motion of a
motor vehicle through steering.
(ii) Controlling the longitudinal motion of
a motor vehicle through acceleration and
deceleration.
(iii) Monitoring the driving environment
through the detection, recognition, and
classification of objects and events.
(iv) Preparing a response to an object or
event.
(v) Executing a response to an object or
event.
(vi) Planning a maneuver.
(vii) Enhancing conspicuity through
lighting, signaling, gesturing, or another
indicator.
(C) Exclusion.--The term ``dynamic driving task''
does not include the strategic functions relating to
the operation of a motor vehicle, such as--
(i) trip scheduling;
(ii) selection of a destination; and
(iii) selection of a waypoint.
(5) Operational design domain.--The term ``operational
design domain'' means the specific operating conditions under
which a given partially automated driving system, automated
driving system, or feature of such system is specifically
designed to function, including any environmental,
geographical, and time-of-day restriction and the requisite
presence or absence of certain traffic or roadway
characteristics.
(6) Partially automated driving system.--The term
``partially automated driving system'' means a system of which
the hardware and software collectively perform the lateral and
longitudinal vehicle motion control subtasks of the dynamic
driving task with the expectation that the driver monitors the
system and completes the object and event detection and
response subtask.
(7) Partially automated vehicle.--The term ``partially
automated vehicle'' means a motor vehicle that is equipped with
a partially automated driving system.
(8) Purchaser.--The term ``purchaser'' means an individual
who purchases a motor vehicle or enters into a contract to
lease a motor vehicle before first sale and not for resale.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
Subcommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee by Voice Vote.
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