The US House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has released a section-by-section summary of its proposed BUILD America 250 Act, a surface transport reauthorisation bill running through FY 2031. Provisions affecting the automotive sector include a federal EV registration fee, a framework for autonomous heavy trucks, and a ban on federal funding for LiDAR from “covered foreign countries”. The bill would impose an annual federal registration fee of US$130 on covered EVs and US$35 on covered plug-in hybrids, with biennial US$5 increases from 2029 to caps of US$150 and US$50. States that do not collect would have 125% of the owed amount withheld from federal highway apportionment. For autonomous heavy trucks, the bill creates a federal safety standard for ADS-equipped commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce, requiring manufacturers to demonstrate competencies via a safety case and meet reporting requirements. The bill also extends the Secretary of Transportation’s commercial-vehicle preemption authority to ADS-equipped vehicles, asserting federal pre-eminence over state laws. Section 6009 prohibits the Secretary from procuring or funding LiDAR technology from “covered foreign countries” as defined in the FY 2025 NDAA, language widely understood to cover China. The bill also grants hydrogen vehicles the same weight exemption as electric and gas vehicles on interstate highways and reauthorises a national road usage charge pilot programme.