The Rules Committee reported HB 26,207 after the sponsor said the measure, originally intended as a regulatory framework for automated driving systems, would be converted into a study to gather additional industry feedback and develop recommended standards for a future legislative framework.

Delegate Glass, the sponsor, told the panel that early stakeholder input made clear further review was needed and that the study would gather work from the past year about automated vehicles into a recommended regulatory or legislative framework for the next session. "We received a tremendous amount of feedback from industry folks," the sponsor said.

Senator Fevella indicated he had no questions during the Rules hearing. The committee voted to report the bill (voice vote recorded in the transcript as 14‑0 in favor) and the sponsor said the study will be used to craft more uniform standards and membership for the proposed body if the General Assembly pursues regulation in the next session.

Next steps: HB 26,207 was reported by Rules; if advanced, the study findings would inform possible regulatory or statutory proposals in a subsequent session.