Prohibits any motor vehicle with a manufacturers' gross vehicle weight rating of ten thousand one pounds or more which utilizes autonomous vehicle technology from being operated on public highways unless a natural person holding a valid license for the operation of the motor vehicle's class is present within such vehicle.

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7956

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 15, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  HARCKHAM, COONEY, MAYER -- read twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Trans-
          portation

        AN  ACT  to  amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring
          human safety operators for certain autonomous vehicles

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  vehicle  and  traffic law is amended by adding a new
     2  section 393-b to read as follows:
     3    § 393-b. Human safety operator required for certain  autonomous  vehi-
     4  cles.    No  motor  vehicle  with  a manufacturers' gross vehicle weight
     5  rating of ten thousand one pounds  or  more  which  utilizes  autonomous
     6  vehicle technology shall be operated on public highways unless a natural
     7  person  holding a valid license for the operation of the motor vehicle's
     8  class is present within such vehicle. As used in this  section,  "auton-
     9  omous  vehicle technology" shall mean the hardware and software that are
    10  collectively capable of performing part or all of  the  dynamic  driving
    11  task  on  a  sustained  basis, and the term "dynamic driving task" shall
    12  mean all of the real-time operational and tactical functions required to
    13  operate a vehicle in on-road traffic, excluding the strategic  functions
    14  such as trip scheduling and selection of destinations and waypoints.
    15    §  2.  This  act shall take effect upon the adoption by the state of a
    16  law permitting the operation  of  motor  vehicles  utilizing  autonomous
    17  vehicle technology on public highways without requiring a natural person
    18  holding  a  valid license for the operation of the motor vehicle's class
    19  to be present within such vehicle; provided  that  the  commissioner  of
    20  motor  vehicles  shall  notify  the legislative bill drafting commission
    21  upon the occurrence of the enactment of such state law in order that the
    22  commission may maintain an accurate and timely effective  data  base  of
    23  the official text of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance of
    24  effecting  the  provisions  of  section  44  of  the legislative law and
    25  section 70-b of the public officers law.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10451-01-5