Ridesharing bill on the move in Florida Senate

©2017 The News Service of Florida. All rights reserved. Posting or forwarding this material without permission is prohibited. You can view the Terms of Use on our website.

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 14, 2017……… After the issue stalled the past two years in the Senate, a proposal that would create statewide regulations for ridesharing companies got a boost Tuesday from a Senate committee.

Ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft are lobbying heavily for the proposal (SB 340), which would override local regulations on the fast-growing industry. But with cities and counties long regulating taxi operators, groups such as the Florida League of Cities oppose the move to impose statewide rules for app-based ridesharing companies.

The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee approved the bill, which includes insurance and background-check requirements for ridesharing drivers. In arguing for statewide regulations, bill sponsor Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, pointed, for example, to the possibility that 24 cities in Pinellas County could have different rules.