Latest news with #HouseBill25-1291
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colorado Senate approves ride-sharing safety bill with substantial amendments
Rep. Jenny Willford, a Northglenn Democrat, speaks about the Transportation Network Company Consumer Protection Act at the Colorado Capitol on Feb. 28, 2025. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline) Lawmakers heavily amended a bill on Tuesday that aims to improve safety for users of ride-sharing services like Uber, two weeks after the company threatened to pull out of the state if the legislation became law unchanged. The Senate then gave preliminary approval to the bill after the amendments. It will be up for a final recorded vote on Wednesday, the last day of the 2025 regular lawmaking session. 'Uber and Lyft have severe safety issues and are in crisis, whether they want to admit it or not. It's why they've spent billions of marketing to convince the public they are safe,' said bill sponsor Sen. Faith Winter, a Broomfield Democrat. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX In Uber's latest U.S. safety report, it found 2,717 reports of sexual assault in 2021 and 2022, with the majority of victims being riders. 'Transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft exercise full control over their platforms and have continually implemented the lowest-cost safety measures, which are inadequate,' Winter said. 'They profit off of people, taking them at their word that they are safe.' As introduced, House Bill 25-1291 would mandate stricter, more frequent background checks and clearer disqualifications for drivers with histories of assault, harassment, kidnapping, menacing or domestic violence. It would require companies to establish and enforce policies around preventing account sharing or driver impersonation. Drivers would be prohibited from offering food or drinks to riders. It also would have required continuous audio and visual recording during drives. The bill was introduced and championed by Rep. Jenny Willford, a Northglenn Democrat, who sued Lyft earlier this year over an alleged sexual assault that occurred last February. The driver during the incident was using someone else's account. But the provisions faced staunch opposition from ride-sharing companies. Uber said last month, as the bill passed a Senate committee, that it would exit Colorado because the law would create too great a legal risk to operate, according to The Colorado Sun. That prompted a series of sweeping changes on Tuesday as the Senate considered the bill. Winter said sponsors worked with Lyft on the amendments. The biggest amendment allows for drivers and riders to opt in to video and audio recording instead of requiring it. The state's public utilities commission would adopt rules about the recordings, including education about the safety benefits for companies. Uber has an existing safety feature that allows riders to choose to audio record a ride. Sponsors said the amendment was hard to accept. 'A driver whose intent is to traffic, kidnap or assault someone is not going to create their own evidence,' bill sponsor Sen. Jessie Danielson, a Wheat Ridge Democrat, said. 'This is the thing we didn't want to give away, but we acknowledge there are concerns from drivers, companies and civil rights groups. We couldn't get there on this go-around, how to require the driver to film and still preserve these rights.' Another amendment narrows the scope of when someone could bring a lawsuit against a driver or rider to instances of sexual assault, kidnapping, personal injury and death. A driver would also need to notify the company within 48 hours of a guilty plea for an offense that would disqualify them from driving, and an amendment removed the company's liability if a driver does not report. Lawmakers also approved an amendment that would allow the water and food ban to be enforced through random compliance checks, and would allow companies to remove driver ratings and reviews they deem bias-motivated. Additionally, an amendment changed the timeline for a company to review a complaint against a driver to seven days from 72 hours. It's unclear if the changes will sway Uber's position. 'Last-minute changes and a rushed process have made this legislation incredibly challenging. With new provisions added just this morning without the opportunity to review, we need time to thoroughly evaluate the bill to determine whether it is workable,' a spokesperson wrote in an email. They said Uber saw text of the Senate floor amendments on Monday night. Winter said sponsors worked with stakeholders, including Lyft, on amendments. If the Senate passes the bill Wednesday, it will head back to the House to concur with the amendments and then to the governor's desk for a signature. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colorado governor vetoes Uber, Lyft passenger safety bill
Sen. Jessie Danielson, right, hugs Rep. Jenny Willford after a ride-sharing safety bill passed the Colorado Senate during the last day of the 2025 legislative session on May 7, 2025 at the Colorado Capitol. (Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline) Colorado Gov. Jared Polis vetoed a bill on Friday afternoon that would have required more safety features in ride-hailing services, writing that the legislation would risk the future of companies like Uber and Lyft in the state. The bill would 'would jeopardize these services in Colorado to an untenable degree, and could very well lead to companies that Coloradans rely on exiting the market, raising prices, or reducing the number of drivers. This in turn would create economic hardship for the thousands of people who rely on the platforms for income and to go to medical appointments, as well as potentially add more drunk drivers to the road,' he wrote in his veto letter. House Bill 25-1291 aimed to increase safety for passengers, including optional audio and visual recording during rides and a ban on drivers offering their passengers food and drink. It would have also added some new background check requirements and allowed a person to sue, instead of going to arbitration, a company or driver in the case of death, sexual assault, personal injury or kidnapping. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Jenny Willford, a Northglenn Democrat who said she was sexually assaulted by a Lyft driver last year. Prosecutors charged the man who allegedly attacked her earlier this month. Willford is also suing Lyft over the incident. She did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on the veto. Lawmakers narrowed the scope of the bill throughout the legislative process, most significantly in the final days of the session, to respond to concerns from ride-hailing companies. It passed the House on a 56-9 vote and the Senate on a 22-13 vote. Still, Uber said they would leave the state if the bill became law, and Uber and Lyft both encouraged a veto after the legislative session wrapped up. Polis wrote that he was concerned the audio and visual recording provisions were in conflict with state privacy laws, and that banning arbitration clauses in rider agreements on the platforms in question could be preempted by federal law. 'I fear victims attempting to bring a claim in court in reliance of this bill will have their claims dismissed based on federal law and the arbitration clauses in the user terms and agreements, causing substantial delay in victims achieving relief,' he wrote. At the same time, Polis directed the state's Department of Regulatory Agencies to work with bill sponsors to come up with policy ideas that could be implemented through executive orders or legislation next year. Specifically, he wants the department and the Public Utilities Commission to strengthen rules against driver impersonation and enhance existing audits on the companies' background check processes. He also requested recommendations about how to update and potentially expand the regulatory structure for ride-hailing companies 'with a specific focus on passenger safety and enhanced transparency.' 'HB 25-1291 should not represent the end of this conversation on ride share safety,' he wrote. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
USA Today
25-04-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Uber threatens to leave state if new legislation passes: Here's what to know
Uber threatens to leave state if new legislation passes: Here's what to know Show Caption Hide Caption Ninth annual 'Uber Lost & Found' list released Divorce papers and live animals like rabbits and lobsters are among the bizarre items on Uber's 2025 "Lost & Found" list. Uber said it will pull out of Colorado if a bill aimed at improving rideshare safety becomes law. House Bill 25-1291, spearheaded by state Rep. Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn, looks to require rideshare drivers to make audio and video recordings of trips and prohibiting drivers from offering passengers drinks and snacks. The bill would also require companies to conduct more thorough background checks on drivers and track and report violent incidents. The bill was introduced into the legislature in January 2025 after Willford filed a lawsuit against Lyft alleging she was sexually assaulted by a man pretending to be a rideshare driver in February 2024, according to reporting from KMGH-TV, an ABC affiliate in Denver. In an emailed statement obtained by USA TODAY Friday, Uber called the bill "a deeply flawed proposal, which if implemented would leave us no choice but cease operations in Colorado." Uber claims HB25-1291 "threatens user privacy by requiring every trip to be recorded, imposes major technical and financial burdens, and offers no clear safety benefit in return. We support real, evidence-based safety policy - not legislation that checks a box but fails to deliver," Uber said in the statement. "As written, this bill not only misses the mark, it risks doing more harm than good." Willford called Uber threatening to leave Colorado a "cynical and disheartening move by a multi-billion dollar company to turn their back on survivors rather than implement real safety measures" in a statement posted to her Instagram account Thursday. "We have worked with Uber in good faith for months and accepted many of their amendment requests - including a full rewrite of the bill," the statement continued. "For years, Uber has checked the box on safety, but time after time failed to deliver for victims." "It's clear Uber won't stand up for safety so they can continue to maximize profits rather than address the horrible incidents that change the lives of riders and drivers forever," Willford concluded in her statement. In its emailed statement, Uber said it has "led the industry on safety from day one - backed by technology, transparency, and real accountability." Uber points to features like the audio and video recording, RideCheck, and Emergency Button as examples of safety features contained within its app. Uber said its Record My Ride feature in the app enables drivers to record video using the front-facing camera on their smartphone, similar to a dashcam. The feature has been live in the US since last year, Uber said. Audio recording is also available for both riders and drivers during a trip in the Uber app. When a driver or rider uses the Emergency Button within the Uber app, the car's make and model, license plate, and GPS location are made available to 911 dispatchers, according to Uber's website. The Colorado Sun reports the bill passed the House by a 59-6 vote earlier this month and currently awaits a hearing on the Senate floor. The legislative session ends May 7. Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@
