R Street applauds Florida Senate passage of ridesharing legislation
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (April 19, 2017) – The R Street Institute welcomes today’s vote by the Florida Senate to approve H.B. 221, long-overdue legislation designed to regulate Florida’s ridesharing industry in a commonsense way equitable to consumers and business alike.
The bill now moves to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk. The legislation—sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, and state Reps. Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, and James W. Grant, R-Tampa—establishes a statewide regulatory framework for transportation network companies like Lyft and Uber, including insurance requirements based on a compromise R Street helped to broker between the TNCs and major insurers.
“Today’s overwhelming, bipartisan passage of H.B. 221 is a big win for consumers and the free market,” said Christian R. Cámara, R Street’s Southeast region director. “This commonsense legislation includes safety requirements and other protections for drivers and passengers alike, and will finally allow responsible competition between transportation companies in Florida.
“After deliberating over this very important issue for four years, I salute Sen. Brandes and Reps. Sprowls and Grant for producing a measured final product and encourage Gov. Scott to sign it promptly into law,” he added.
R Street is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy research organization whose mission is to promote free markets and limited, effective government. It has headquarters in Washington, D.C. and five regional offices across the country. Its website is www.rstreet.org.
