S 7956: 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