Michigan House Panel Approves State Regulations On Transportation Networks

LANSING – Companies like Uber and

Lyft connecting those with private cars willing to transport passengers would

have to pay substantially more for annual licensing, but would be exempt from

local regulation under legislation reported Tuesday from the House Commerce and

Trade Committee.

The full House then advanced the

bills to Third Reading, prepping them for final passage in the chamber on

Wednesday.

The bills as reported would require

transportation network companies to pay a $30,000 annual licensure fee (up from

$5,000 in the original bill) to the Department of Transportation. That company

and each driver would then also have to keep records of each ride offered

through the service.

Those offering rides through a

Transportation Network Company would not be able to use areas dedicated for

taxis, and airports would still be able to set some regulations on drivers for

the services.

The bills would still require

drivers to carry certain minimum levels of insurance while they are signed in

to provide rides, but, as reported, anyone pretending to be driving for such a

service and offering rides could have any insurance claims denied.

The bills were reported on nearly

party line votes, with Rep. Mike Callton(R-Nashville) and Rep. Nancy Jenkins(R-Clayton) joining most Democrats in opposing the bills, leaving most of the

bills (HB

4638 , HB

4639 , HB

4640 and HB

4641 ) reported on 10-7 votes. Rep. LaTanya Garrett(D-Detroit) and Rep. Jeremy Moss(D-Southfield) abstained.

Rep. Leslie Love(D-Detroit) also abstained on the main bill, HB

4637 , leaving that reported on a 10-6 vote.

The committee and full House

rejected several amendments, including a substitute by Rep. Jim Townsend(D-Royal Oak) that he said would have put all companies offering rides for hire

under statewide regulation.

“This bus is changing rapidly.

Why would we carve out regulations for one set of companies when the technology

they’re using is being adopted by a whole other set of companies?” Townsend

said. “This would also get us out of the business of having local

governments bar or create a fiefdom.”

The proposal fell one vote shy of

passing.

Rep. Erika Geiss(D-Taylor) said the bill as drafted would not necessarily exempt all large

airports from the regulations (it covers those run by an airport authority),

but her proposal to expand the exemption was rejected

Also rejected was an amendment from Rep. Andy Schor‘s