Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026

This bill changes how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) manages vehicle safety rules, testing, and recalls. It requires NHTSA to publish a safety rulemaking and research plan every 2 years, creates a new office and an 18-member advisory committee for the New Car Assessment Program, and requires a review every 4 years of whether vehicle safety standards should be revised or eliminated. It raises the number of vehicles a manufacturer may produce under a safety-standard exemption from 2,500 to 90,000, and treats exemption applications as approved if not decided within 1 year. It also allows recall notices to be sent by email and creates working groups and studies on driver automation education, vehicle fire rescue, wheelchair securement, vehicle ownership costs, and vehicle identification numbers.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Brett Guthrie Republican sponsor
• 0 cosponsors