What happened to McDuffie’s autonomous vehicle bill?
Short answer: it never got a hearing or a vote, and there was no December 2025 vote. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie introduced B26-0323, the Autonomous Vehicles Amendment Act of 2025, on July 11, 2025. It went to the Committee on Transportation and the Environment three days later, and the record shows nothing after a notice in the DC Register on July 18, 2025. McDuffie left the Council on January 5, 2026 to run for mayor. The driverless bill that is actually moving is a different one, Charles Allen’s B26-0684, and as of November 2, 2026 it has had a hearing but no committee vote. Both bills die if they are not passed by the end of December 2026.
The timeline, as of November 2, 2026
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2025 | McDuffie (at-large) introduces B26-0323, the Autonomous Vehicles Amendment Act of 2025. No other councilmember signs on. |
| Jul 14, 2025 | Referred to the Committee on Transportation and the Environment, chaired by Charles Allen, with comments from the Judiciary and Public Safety and the Business and Economic Development committees. |
| Jul 18, 2025 | Notice of intent to act published in the DC Register. This is the last action on the record. No hearing, markup or vote follows. |
| Dec 16, 2025 | At his last Council meeting, McDuffie, an independent at-large member, announces he will resign, effective January 5. He says he is considering a run for mayor. |
| Jan 5, 2026 | McDuffie’s resignation takes effect; he enters the Democratic primary for mayor later that month. B26-0323 stays in committee without its sponsor. |
| May 1, 2026 | Allen, with Councilmembers Brooke Pinto and Matthew Frumin, introduces B26-0684, the Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Authorization Amendment Act of 2026. |
| Jun 16, 2026 | McDuffie loses the Democratic primary for mayor to Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George. |
| Jul 13, 2026 | Public hearing on B26-0684. It runs more than seven hours with more than 80 speakers; councilmembers say the testimony will shape the next version of the bill. |
| Oct 16, 2026 | Lewis George, the Democratic nominee for mayor, has asked lawmakers to hold the bill until at least next year; Allen says he will still push for a vote this fall. City Cast DC reports that B26-0684 needs a committee markup by mid-November to pass the committee and two full Council votes before the session ends. |
| Nov 2, 2026 | No markup or vote has been scheduled for either bill. |
| End of Dec 2026 | Council Period 26 ends. Any bill not passed by then, including both of these, has to be reintroduced in 2027. |
If you saw a “December 2025 vote” mentioned somewhere, we could not find it in the Council’s record or in any news report. The bill never left committee.
What McDuffie’s bill would have done
B26-0323 is short, about nine pages, and it amends DC’s Autonomous Vehicle Act of 2012. As introduced, it would have:
- let a fully autonomous vehicle (SAE level 4 or 5) drive on District roads with no human driver, as long as it can pull over to a safe stop if its system fails and can follow DC traffic law;
- required each operator to give DDOT a plan for how police can reach a support person, tell whether the car is in autonomous mode, and tow it safely;
- marked driverless cars as fully autonomous on their DC registration and title, and required copies of federal crash reports to go to DDOT within a day;
- treated the driving system as the licensed driver for traffic law;
- allowed driverless ride-hailing and delivery networks under the District’s existing taxi and rideshare laws;
- required proof of insurance before any car ran without a driver; and
- made DDOT the only District agency that could regulate driverless cars, barring other agencies from adding AV-specific taxes, fees or rules.
It set no permit fees, no fleet size limit and no minimum number of test miles.
How it compares with Allen’s B26-0684
Allen’s bill takes the opposite approach on cost and pace. Both bills amend the same 2012 law, and both would let cars run with nobody behind the wheel. The differences, from each bill as introduced:
| McDuffie, B26-0323 (2025) | Allen, B26-0684 (2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | In committee since July 2025, no hearing | Hearing held July 13, 2026, no markup yet |
| Fees | None in the bill | $1 million to apply, $5 million for the first permit, $1 million to renew |
| Testing before paid rides | No minimum | At least 180 days and 250,000 miles of testing in the District |
| Fleet size | No limit | 200 vehicles per operator until at least January 1, 2028 |
| On-demand robotaxi network | Allowed under existing taxi and rideshare law | Not before January 1, 2028 |
| Per-mile tax | None | 15 cents per vehicle mile |
| Insurance | Proof of coverage under DC law | At least $5 million per vehicle |
Allen’s bill also sets a clock once it takes effect: DDOT would offer a driverless testing permit within 60 days and a commercial permit 120 days after that. At the July hearing, industry and business groups asked for the fleet cap and the 2028 date to come out, and Tesla’s policy adviser objected to the fees. Our Washington, DC page follows that bill, where Waymo and Zoox are testing today, and what it would mean for a Cybercab owner in the District, Maryland or Virginia.
What happens next
Nothing, for McDuffie’s bill. Its sponsor is gone, it never had a hearing, and it expires with the rest of Council Period 26 at the end of December 2026.
For Allen’s bill, the next step is a committee markup, where the committee votes on a revised version. Then the full Council has to pass it twice, the mayor signs it, and every DC law sits before Congress for a review period before it takes effect. Allen said on October 16 that he still plans a committee vote this fall, even though Lewis George, the Democratic nominee for mayor, wants it held until at least next year. City Cast DC put the markup deadline at mid-November for the bill to finish this year. If it misses, a new bill has to be introduced in 2027 and the process starts over.
Where DockDuty fits
DockDuty is building depots and fleet software for privately owned autonomous vehicles, market by market across the US. Orlando is our lead market, with its depot targeted for Q4 2026 or Q1 2027, and we are planning locations in several more metros at the same time. There is no DockDuty site, lease or date in the Washington area, and none is likely until the District allows paid driverless rides. For what a depot does, see what a robotaxi depot is; for where driverless rides run today, see the US robotaxi map. DockDuty is an independent depot and dispatch platform. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or partnered with Tesla, Inc.; “Tesla” and “Cybercab” are trademarks of Tesla, Inc., used here for descriptive reference only.
McDuffie AV bill: FAQ
What is the McDuffie autonomous vehicle bill?
It is B26-0323, the Autonomous Vehicles Amendment Act of 2025, introduced in the DC Council by at-large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie on July 11, 2025, with no co-introducers. It would have let fully driverless cars operate in the District with no human on board, allowed driverless ride-hailing under the existing taxi and rideshare laws, and made DDOT the only District agency that could regulate them.
Was there a vote on McDuffie’s autonomous vehicle bill in December 2025?
No. B26-0323 was referred to the Committee on Transportation and the Environment on July 14, 2025, and the public record lists no hearing, committee markup or Council vote after a notice in the DC Register on July 18, 2025. McDuffie announced on December 16, 2025 that he would leave the Council, and his resignation took effect January 5, 2026.
Is McDuffie’s bill still alive?
Only on paper. It is still listed as in committee, its sponsor is no longer on the Council, and like every bill in Council Period 26 it dies if it is not passed by the end of December 2026. The driverless bill that is actually moving is Charles Allen’s B26-0684.
When will the DC Council vote on robotaxis?
No vote was scheduled as of November 2, 2026. Allen’s B26-0684 had a public hearing on July 13, 2026 and no markup since. City Cast DC reported on October 16, 2026 that it would need a committee markup by mid-November to clear the committee and two full Council votes before the session ends in December; if it misses that, it has to be reintroduced in 2027.
How is Allen’s B26-0684 different from McDuffie’s bill?
McDuffie’s bill had no permit fees, no fleet cap and no testing threshold. Allen’s bill, as introduced on May 1, 2026, charges a $1 million application fee and a $5 million permit fee, requires 180 days and 250,000 miles of testing in the District before a commercial permit, caps each operator at 200 vehicles until at least January 1, 2028, allows an on-demand robotaxi network only from January 1, 2028, and adds a 15-cent-per-mile tax.
Sources.
- B26-0323 as introduced, DC Council LIMS, read in full on November 2, 2026.
- B26-0323 on LIMS and its action history on FastDemocracy (introduced July 11, referred July 14, notice July 18, 2025; no hearing listed), checked November 2, 2026.
- B26-0684 on LIMS, with Allen’s May 1, 2026 introduction letter and bill text.
- NBC Washington, December 16, 2025, on the resignation effective January 5, 2026, and Kenyan McDuffie on Wikipedia, on the mayoral run that followed.
- City Cast DC, July 13, 2026, on the B26-0684 hearing.
- Holland & Knight, August 3, 2026, on the fees, the fleet cap and what witnesses asked for.
- City Cast DC, October 16, 2026, on the mid-November markup deadline and the end of the session.