DOT and NRC Advance Cluster of Transportation and Safety Rulemakings, All Due July 27

NHTSA Withdraws AV STEP, Proposes Brake Standard Modernization

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration took two significant and related actions on June 26, 2026 concerning automated driving systems. First, NHTSA formally withdrew the notice of proposed rulemaking it had published on January 15, 2025 (90 FR 4130) that would have established the ADS-Equipped Vehicle Safety, Transparency, and Evaluation Program (AV STEP) — a voluntary program for vehicle manufacturers, ADS developers, and fleet operators or system integrators. The withdrawal is effective as of June 26, 2026 and affects proposed changes to 49 CFR parts 595 and 597.

The agency explains that the withdrawal follows its reevaluation of the proposal, consideration of the 37 comments received before the March 17, 2025 close of the comment period, and subsequent progress on other ADS initiatives. According to the withdrawal notice, a central theme of the comments was that the program was not likely to be as effective or comprehensive a regulatory tool as originally intended. Entities eligible to participate expressed low interest in voluntarily joining a program with requirements they characterized as stringent, while safety advocates and others argued the program was insufficient because it lacked mandatory requirements. Commenters also noted the proposal was complex, would have required adding an entirely new part with multiple subparts to NHTSA's regulations, and would not achieve its objective of encouraging robust participation while providing effective oversight. The agency further states that several key goals of the proposal — such as improving NHTSA's exemption programs — have since been furthered through the Automated Vehicle Framework announced in April 2025.

In a separate but related action published the same day, NHTSA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 135, "Light vehicle brake systems," to modernize it for ADS-equipped vehicles that do not have manually operated driving controls. The agency explains that the proposed modifications would distinguish how regulations apply to vehicles with and without manually operated driving controls, clarify definitions, telltale requirements, performance requirements, and test procedures, and remove sections no longer relevant. Critically, the agency states it is not proposing changes to any stopping distance requirements: the stopping distance performance requirements would still apply to all subject vehicles. For ADS-equipped vehicles without manually operated driving controls, the agency proposes application of existing performance requirements through alternative test procedures. NHTSA describes the rulemaking as intended to remove unnecessary regulatory burdens and costs without detriment to vehicle safety. The agency notes that ADS-equipped vehicles without manually operated driving controls are not currently available for consumer purchase, but are subject to considerable testing, development, validation, and localized deployment. Comments on the FMVSS No. 135 proposal are due July 27, 2026. The proposed amendments affect 49 CFR part 571.

NRC Proposes Major Overhaul of Nuclear Security and Fitness-for-Duty Rules

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission published a proposed rule and draft guidance on June 26, 2026 to modernize security and fitness-for-duty requirements across multiple CFR parts — 10 CFR 26, 50, 52, 72, 73, and 95 — citing consistency with Executive Order 14300, "Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission." The NRC states the proposed revisions are intended to reduce regulatory burden, where appropriate, while continuing to provide reasonable assurance that safety and security will be adequately maintained at NRC-licensed facilities. Comments must be submitted electronically at regulations.gov by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on July 27, 2026.

The proposal contains four major clusters of changes. On fitness-for-duty programs under 10 CFR part 26, the NRC proposes to enable the collection and drug testing of oral fluid specimens for all conditions for testing, implement a risk-informed reduction in the annual random testing rate for most licensee employees, enhance blind performance testing requirements with additional flexibilities and targeted sampling reductions, update the refresher training interval, and eliminate the requirement for licensees to conduct annual audits of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services certified laboratories. The NRC also proposes to extend the duration of applicability for the optional subpart K fitness-for-duty programs for reactor construction and to allow licensees to escort construction workers instead of subjecting them to a subpart K program. On fatigue management, the proposal would add a new exception from work-hour controls for sequestration events and eliminate the annual reporting of fatigue management performance information to the NRC.

On physical security, the NRC proposes to modernize and streamline requirements for nuclear power reactors and materials by shifting from prescriptive rules to performance-based, risk-informed criteria, providing increased flexibility for implementing security measures and allowing technology-inclusive approaches tailored to diverse reactor designs. For independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs), the proposed rule would allow standalone ISFSIs located outside a power reactor's protected area to implement security programs appropriate for their risk profile, streamline the process for updating ISFSI security plans, and reduce the frequency of required submissions. Finally, for 10 CFR part 95, the NRC proposes to remove requirements duplicative of 32 CFR part 117, the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), and ensure alignment with that program.

The NRC prepared a draft regulatory analysis estimating that the proposed rule and associated draft guidance would result in net cost savings to the industry and the NRC over the next 30 years ranging from $561 million using a 7 percent discount rate to $1.01 billion using a 3 percent discount rate. For the industry specifically, net cost savings are estimated at $557 million at the 7 percent discount rate and $1.01 billion at the 3 percent discount rate.

FAA and FHWA Advance Narrower Regulatory Actions

The Federal Aviation Administration proposed on June 26, 2026 to remove and reserve 14 CFR sections 61.7 and 61.11, which contain references to pilot certificates and ratings issued more than 50 years ago. The FAA states the action is being taken in part pursuant to Executive Orders 14192 and 14219, and follows a recommendation by the Experimental Aircraft Association in response to a DOT request for information published April 3, 2025. The FAA Airman Certification Branch verified that there are no remaining pilot certificate holders with expired pilot certificates issued under the relevant paragraphs of section 61.11. Regarding section 61.7, the Branch found only four airmen holding obsolete free-balloon pilot certificates, all of whom hold subsequent certificates and ratings providing the same privileges; further, all four certificates were issued as paper certificates and under existing rules those holders may no longer exercise the privileges of those certificates. The FAA states it does not anticipate these changes would affect the privileges of any airman currently holding a valid pilot certificate. Comments are due July 27, 2026.

The Federal Highway Administration published a notice and request for comments on a new information collection related to annual Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) and Recreational Trails Program (RTP) reporting, which FHWA states is required under 23 U.S.C. 133(h)(8). The notice follows a 60-day public comment period that opened February 9, 2026 (91 FR 5798) and drew 5 comments from four State Departments of Transportation — Washington, Florida, Texas, and North Carolina — and one anonymous commenter. FHWA's response to the comments explains that the TAP and RTP annual reporting requirement can only be eliminated by changing the law, that States are only required to document specific data regarding project applications and project selections, and that burden estimates reflect an average across 50 States and the District of Columbia. FHWA forwarded the information collection request to OMB for approval. Comments are due July 27, 2026.

What to Watch

All five actions share a July 27, 2026 comment deadline (or, in the FHWA matter, a comment submission deadline of that date). The NHTSA AV STEP withdrawal took effect immediately on June 26, 2026. The FMVSS No. 135 proposed rule is the most substantively open proceeding, with NHTSA explicitly noting it is separately developing safety performance tests for ADS-equipped vehicles to be implemented in a distinct standard. The NRC's 62-Federal-Register-page proposed rule spans six CFR parts and represents the broadest single regulatory scope in this cluster.

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