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AMSTERDAM, NY—Representatives Paul D. Tonko (NY-20) and Antonio Delgado (NY-19) announced today that several of their major limousine safety reforms are expected to be incorporated in a new surface transportation bill just unveiled by the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. The bill is expected to be a priority for committee and House leadership and is expected to move quickly to the House floor.

“Even as we work to tackle the vast and urgent challenges of systemic racism and the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, we must not lose sight of other life-saving work that must get done,” Congressman Tonko said. “This set of common-sense limousine safety reforms is long overdue. Their advance in this surface transportation bill is a credit to the families who have been touched by terrible loss and have responded with a fierce resolve to prevent future tragedies of this kind. I am delighted that our limousine reforms are being taken up in earnest by the House. Rest assured we will not rest until they are signed into law and put into effect.”

“I’m glad to see the End the Limo Loophole Act included in this important infrastructure bill.  This bipartisan legislation will make overdue reforms to safety regulations in place for limos and keep these vehicles safe on the roads,” said Rep. Delgado, member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “Closing these dangerous loopholes and improving safety regulations has been a priority of mine since day one, and I look forward to advancing this legislation both as a member of the committee and on the floor of the House.”  

The provisions expected to advance were announced last year on the one-year anniversary of a tragic limousine crash in Schoharie, NY that took the lives of 20 people. Reps. Tonko and Delgado worked closely with families of these victims and others who lost loved ones in another limousine tragedy on Long Island.

Reps. Tonko and Delgado introduced the broader package in Tonko’s hometown of Amsterdam last year with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and with the support of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (NY-21).

Provisions expected to be included in the final Surface Transportation Bill:

1. Take Unsafe Limos Off the Road Act, sponsored by Rep. Paul Tonko: promotes funding to support states’ efforts to impound or immobilize vehicles that fail inspection for critical safety reasons. The act will incentivize states such as New York to take strong actions to keep unsafe limos that fail inspection off the road. NB: this provision is negotiated to be included in the Manager’s Amendment to be added when the bill is taken up in committee.
2. End the Limo Loophole Act, sponsored by Rep. Antonio Delgado, a member of the House Committee on Transportation closes the “limousine loophole” by reclassifying vehicles used to carry nine or more passengers as commercial motor vehicles. Current law only classifies vehicles designed for 15 or more passengers in this way, allowing many limousines to operate under less rigorous standards. 

Tonko continues to push for his Safe Limousines Act to be included in this Surface Transportation bill as well, including provisions that include a full slate of new federal stretch limousine safety rules and standards for seatbelts, seat integrity, a federal definition for limousines and crash safety research. Additional updates on this measure will be forthcoming.

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