Legislative update: Lawmakers approve rules for Uber, Lyft

Editor’s Note: Below are articles on recent Missouri General Assembly moves provided to Springfield Business Journal by the Missouri Press Association.

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Uber, Lyft get lawmakers’ approval to operate statewide
Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing companies will be able to cruise into more Missouri cities if legislation approved by the General Assembly is signed by Gov. Eric Greitens.

Right now, transportation network companies, such as Uber, only operate in four Missouri cities: Columbia, St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield. TNC drivers must pay application and licensing fees to their respective municipalities, which cover vehicle inspections and state background checks. Drivers cannot go outside the municipality where they pay fees.

The General Assembly has approved legislation for TNCs to pay an annual $5,000 fee to the state, instead of paying varying fees to municipalities. The fee would allow these companies to pick up and drop off customers anywhere in the state.

"Currently, if you start your day in St. Louis County and you drive to St. Charles County, you could be violating ordinances, local ordinances," said Rep. Kirk Mathews, the bill's sponsor. "So, what my bill does is provide a statewide regulatory platform so that they’re not going to be in violation of those ordinances."

Mathews said the inability of TNCs to operate statewide is stunting the development of new business opportunities.

"They fly into Missouri, and they turn on their app and they say, 'Oh, wait, I can’t use a transportation network company here.' They say, 'Is Missouri really the high-tech state they claim to be?'" Mathews said.

Uber and Lyft officials both have said expanding operations statewide could create jobs. If the bill is signed by Greitens, Uber estimated 10,000 jobs would be created, according to The Associated Press.

The bill approved by lawmakers would move Missouri "toward an economy that brings riders more options and drivers greater economic opportunity,” said Lyft spokesman Scott Coriell.

Similar legislation failed during the past two legislative sessions. Opponents say shifting costs hurts taxicab companies, and some legislators contend TNCs would not be held to the same safety and inspection standards if they pay fees to the state instead of cities.

In a statement, W. Thomas Reeves, chairman of the St. Louis Metropolitan Taxicab Commission, said the legislation would dismantle the city’s taxicab industry.

"If an uneven regulatory situation destroys the taxi industry in St. Louis and St. Louis County that is currently regulated by the city and the county, the loss of revenue to those two entities could be in the tens of millions of dollars," Reeves said.

Workforce discrimination bill heads to House floor
A controversial bill that would raise the burden of proof for workplace discrimination in Missouri is one step closer to passing.

The House’s Special Committee on Litigation Reform passed Senate Bill 43 with a vote of 8-5 on April 11. If the bill becomes law, the burden of proof on discrimination claims will become much higher.

Opposition from the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus, which held a noon news conference deriding the bill, did nothing to derail its progress.

"What is now clear to me is that we are worlds away from serving the citizens of this great state when the bills being brought forth are more concerned with protecting the rights of oppressors over the rights of the oppressed," said State Rep. Steve Roberts, D-St. Louis.

Those claiming workplace discrimination will have to prove it was "the motivating factor" behind their firing, instead of a "contributing factor," which means the employer’s bias only has to play a part in the decision.

The bill’s controversial nature was not hidden during the committee session. Six amendments were brought to the committee by politicians on both sides of the aisle. Among other issues, they would have added LGBTQ protections and dismantled the individual protection clause. They were all defeated.

Roberts was one of the bill’s most prominent critics in the committee. He said he was not surprised the bill passed to the floor because Republicans had made it clear to him it was to pass without amendments.

Rep. Mark Ellebracht, D-Liberty, gave an impassioned plea to the committee not to pass the bill. He said its sponsor, Sen. Gary Romine, R-Farmington, runs a business currently being sued for discrimination.

"To have a senator introduce a bill that is so evidently self-serving is offensive, and it tarnishes our honor by participating and allowing him to advance this legislation," he said.

But the bill, if passed, would not apply to suits currently in process. In the past, Romine has said the state Human Rights Commission has found the claim to be without merit.

As Senate digs into state budget, more changes are coming
Earlier this month, the Missouri House passed its version of the state's budget — a culmination of nearly two months of debate and revisions to Greitens' initial proposal.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Sen. Dan Brown, R-Rolla, now is pointing out potential changes he and his colleagues in the Senate will make in a series of meetings.

Such is the meticulous process of creating Missouri's $27 billion spending blueprint. The budget evolves at each stage of the process. What can't and will not change, though, are two things: There must be nearly $500 million in cuts from current spending levels, and it has to be on Greitens' desk by May 5.

The budget has come a long way. Its earliest iteration was just two pages. Near the bottom of the page, printed in bold, was the number that has driven months of cuts and deliberations included in the now several hundred page budget. The line read "ending cash balance," and to its right was the figure: -$456,355,126 — the projected deficit Missouri was facing in the coming year.

Slow revenue growth and rising health costs have wreaked havoc on Missouri's budget, officials say. And though revenues have risen in the few months since that original deficit number was released, Missouri is still facing a shortage. In each budget hearing and floor debate, the spirit of the bolded number still drives the conversation.

In February, almost a month later than is traditional, Greitens released his budget. That original bleak report could be felt through the 9 percent core budget cut to universities; the loss of 188 state jobs; the $36 million cut from K-12 transportation; and the $52 million cut to in-home nursing care for seniors.

Unlike the federal level, Missouri has a constitutional requirement that the budget be balanced. Because of this, the governor's budget and the House budget totals do not significantly differ. As of now, the two budgets are $24.6 million apart, and the House Budget chairman, Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob, expects the final version and the governor's budget to differ by only about $10 million.

Because of this requirement, any differences between the budget drafts mean another program has to be sacrificed.


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