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Real Solutions

New Mexico tries once again to legalize ridesharing

by Ian Adams
Jan 28, 2016
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issues: Regulatory Reform
New Mexico is the latest state to undertake an effort to make the operation of ridesharing services, like Uber and Lyft, legal within its borders. With the blessing of Gov. Susana Martinez, Rep. Monica Youngblood, R–Albuquerque, has introduced a bill would end the state’s hitherto fraught relationship with the industry.

Last session, New Mexico was one of only a handful of states to fail in its efforts to pass statewide legislation creating a regulatory framework for transportation network companies. Rep. Youngblood’s previous effort, H.B. 272, enjoyed broad bipartisan support from the state’s House of Representatives but was later killed in the Senate after an intense campaign by the taxi industry to derail the legislation.

The new bill, H.B. 168, can expect a comparable reception in the House to its predecessor, because it is substantially similar. The question is whether or not the Senate is now satisfied that the legislation apportions financial responsibility in a way that it can live with. Both bills are based on a national compromise that was reached between the TNC and insurance industries in early 2015.

Passing the bill will be a race against the clock. New Mexico’s 2016 legislative session ends Feb. 18 at noon.

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