A tentative bipartisan deal for the massive five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that directs billions in federal dollars to critical U.S. infrastructure projects also includes a provision to establish national regulatory guidelines for autonomous trucks. The agreement — dubbed the Build America 250 Act — announced Sunday by Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves, Rep. of Missouri, and the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington state, also “provides the first ever autonomous commercial motor vehicle framework.” While the legislation still must clear other procedural steps, lawmakers said the goal is to send the bill from Congress to the president’s desk before the current surface transportation authorization expires on Sept. 30. It was introduced to the House of Representatives on Tuesday and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is expected to begin its mark up session on the legislation Thursday. Both Graves and Larsen acknowledged the agreement, which will provide funding for nationwide road, highway and rail projects, from FY 2027 through FY 2031, took more than 18 months to sort through until compromises were reached. Industry would set terms of its safety case The bill as currently drafted features a section, “Safe Integration of Autonomous Commercial Motor Vehicles,” and calls for new regulations within six month or two years, covering issues such as: - The Transportation secretary issuing regulations of a safety standard for interstate commerce of AVs - Requiring an autonomous manufacturer to establish and maintain a safety standard that includes a manufacturer’s own safety case. The safety case “provides claims, supported by arguments and evidence” on the technology’s reliability that is at least as safe as a traditional commercial driver - Creating a transportation rulemaking committee to make recommendations - Requiring a cybersecurity plan, policy and preventative/response efforts - Establishing crash reporting requirements - Setting limits