Ryan Ray
Advocates for ride-sharing firms Lyft and Uber evidently did not reach an agreement this weekend with traditional taxi cab and limousine stakeholders, as a ride sharing policy bill sponsored by Rep. Matt Gaetz was temporarily postponed Monday for the second time in as many appearances on the House floor.
HB 817 is generally considered a pro-Uber piece of legislation, but it recently took on amendments sponsored by Reps. Kathleen Peters and Mike Miller that tightened requirements on ride-sharing operations, making the bill more palatable for taxi companies.
That legislative back and forth, however, has evidently given way to gridlock as Gaetz’s bill seems further than ever from gaining the favor of a House majority, much less the more Uber-averse Senate, led by Orlando-based Mears Transportation fellow traveler President Andy Gardiner.
Meanwhile, a Senate-driven bill to increase insurance requirements ride-sharing firms must satisfy has been received by the House in Messages and placed on the House Special Order Calendar.
SB 1298 by Altamonte Springs Sen. David Simmons — a key Central Florida ally and water carrier for Gardiner — will be taken up by the full House during a Tuesday floor session.
Simmons’ bill started with Uber proponents more or less in support of it as part of a package that includes the local ordinance preemption language in the HB 817, but that has changed over the last few weeks.
Ride-sharing influencers now characterize the measure as a vehicle for the Senate to hamper Uber. Just how similar ride-sharing insurance policies are to normal commercial taxi policies — a disastrous outcome for the Uber camp — could be a major bargaining chip in the coming days, and possibly beyond.
Gaetz is likely to propose an amendment to that bill, which influencers on behalf of ride-sharing companies say is a nonstarter that might drive them away from many Florida markets.
