Bill Text: TX SB176 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of transportation network companies; requiring an occupational permit; authorizing a fee.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 7-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-21 - Co-author authorized [SB176 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-SB176-Introduced.html

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85R2901 JTS-F
By: Schwertner S.B. No. 176

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of transportation network companies;
requiring an occupational permit; authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 14, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 2402 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 2402. TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANIES
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 2402.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Commission of
Licensing and Regulation.
(2) "Department" means the Texas Department of
Licensing and Regulation.
(3) "Digital network" means the online-enabled
application, software, website, or system offered or used by a
transportation network company to connect passengers and drivers.
(4) "Passenger vehicle" means a motor vehicle designed
to carry fewer than 16 passengers, including the driver.
Sec. 2402.002. DEFINITION OF TRANSPORTATION NETWORK
COMPANY. In this chapter, "transportation network company" means a
corporation, sole proprietorship, or other entity that enables a
passenger to prearrange a ride in a passenger vehicle with the
driver of the vehicle exclusively through the company's digital
network. The term does not include an entity that provides, in
addition to rides prearranged through a digital network:
(1) street-hail taxicab services; or
(2) limousine or other car services arranged by a
method other than through a digital network.
Sec. 2402.003. CONTROLLING AUTHORITY. Notwithstanding any
other provision of law, transportation network companies and
drivers accessing a transportation network company's digital
network are governed exclusively by this chapter. A municipality
or other local entity may not:
(1) impose a tax on or require a license for a
transportation network company or a driver who has access to a
transportation network company's digital network; or
(2) subject a transportation network company or a
driver who has access to a transportation network company's digital
network to the municipality's or other local entity's rate, entry,
operational, or other requirements.
SUBCHAPTER B. PERMIT REQUIRED
Sec. 2402.051. PERMIT REQUIRED. (a) A person may not
operate a transportation network company in this state without
obtaining and maintaining a permit issued under this chapter.
(b) The department shall issue a permit to each applicant
that meets the requirements of this chapter and pays the fee
required by Section 2402.052.
Sec. 2402.052. FEE. A transportation network company shall
annually pay a fee to the department to maintain a permit under this
chapter. The amount of the fee is:
(1) $10,000 for a transportation network company whose
digital network is used by 50 or fewer drivers;
(2) $30,000 for a transportation network company whose
digital network is used by 51-200 drivers;
(3) $75,000 for a transportation network company whose
digital network is used by 201-1,000 drivers; and
(4) $125,000 for a transportation network company
whose digital network is used by more than 1,000 drivers.
Sec. 2402.053. PERMIT APPLICATION. (a) An application for
a transportation network company permit must be on a form
prescribed by the department. The application must include
information that meets the requirements of this chapter and
information the commission by rule determines is necessary to
determine the applicant's qualifications to adequately serve the
public.
(b) The applicant shall notify the department of any
material change in the information included in an application not
later than the 10th calendar day after the date the change occurs.
The department shall prescribe a form for the disclosure of
material changes.
Sec. 2402.054. TERM; RENEWAL. (a) A permit issued under
this chapter is valid for two years. The department shall prescribe
the form and requirements necessary to apply for a renewal of a
permit.
(b) The department shall notify each person holding a permit
under this chapter of the date of permit expiration and the amount
of the fee required for permit renewal. The department shall send
the notice not later than the 30th day before the date of the permit
expiration.
SUBCHAPTER C. DRIVER REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES
Sec. 2402.101. DRIVER PREREQUISITES. (a) Before allowing
an individual to act as a driver on the company's digital network, a
transportation network company must:
(1) require the individual to submit an application to
the company that includes information regarding the individual's
address, age, driver's license, driving history, motor vehicle
registration, motor vehicle liability insurance, and other
information required by the company;
(2) conduct, or have a third party conduct, a local and
national criminal background check for each individual that
includes the use of:
(A) a commercial multistate and
multijurisdiction criminal records locator with primary source
validation; and
(B) the national sex offender registry database
maintained by the United States Department of Justice or successor
agency; and
(3) obtain and review the individual's driving record.
(b) A transportation network company may not permit to act
as a driver on its digital network an individual who:
(1) has been convicted of:
(A) more than three offenses classified by the
Department of Public Safety as moving violations in the preceding
three-year period; or
(B) one of the following offenses in the
preceding three-year period:
(i) evading arrest or detention under
Section 38.04, Penal Code;
(ii) reckless driving under Section
545.401, Transportation Code;
(iii) driving without a valid driver's
license under Section 521.025, Transportation Code; or
(iv) driving with an invalid driver's
license under Section 521.457, Transportation Code;
(2) has been convicted, in the preceding five-year
period, of driving while intoxicated under Section 49.04 or 49.045,
Penal Code;
(3) has been convicted at any time of:
(A) fraud;
(B) a sexual offense;
(C) use of a motor vehicle to commit:
(i) a felony;
(ii) a crime involving property damage;
(iii) theft;
(iv) an act of violence; or
(v) an offense of making a terroristic
threat;
(D) an offense listed in Article 42A.054(a), Code
of Criminal Procedure; or
(E) invasive visual recording under Section
21.15, Penal Code;
(4) is a match in the national sex offender registry
database;
(5) does not possess a valid driver's license;
(6) does not possess proof of registration or
financial responsibility for the motor vehicle that will be used to
provide rides prearranged through the company's digital network; or
(7) is younger than 19 years of age.
Sec. 2402.102. DRIVER DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE POLICY. (a) A
transportation network company shall adopt and implement a policy
prohibiting drivers from using or being under the influence of
drugs or alcohol when the driver is logged on to the company's
digital network, regardless of whether the driver is providing a
ride prearranged through the network.
(b) A transportation network company shall post on the
company's Internet website:
(1) notice of the drug and alcohol policy; and
(2) procedures to report a complaint about a driver
with whom a passenger was matched through the digital network and
who the passenger reasonably suspects was using or was under the
influence of drugs or alcohol during the course of the trip.
Sec. 2402.103. DISCRIMINATION POLICY. (a) A transportation
network company shall adopt and implement a policy prohibiting
driver discrimination against passengers and individuals
requesting rides using the company's digital network based on:
(1) a characteristic protected from discrimination
under state or federal law, including race, color, national origin,
religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, or gender
identity or expression; or
(2) the geographic location of a person requesting a
ride.
(b) A policy adopted under Subsection (a) must include
provisions prohibiting drivers from:
(1) refusing to accept a ride request based on the
geographic location of the person requesting a ride if the
passenger's destination is 30 miles or less from the passenger's
departure point;
(2) refusing to accommodate service animals; and
(3) charging an additional fee or higher rate based on
a factor described by Subsection (a).
(c) A transportation network company shall post on the
company's Internet website:
(1) notice of the discrimination policy; and
(2) procedures to report a complaint about a driver
who:
(A) accepted or declined a person's ride request;
and
(B) the person reasonably suspects discriminated
against the person on a basis described by Subsection (a).
Sec. 2402.104. POLICY ENFORCEMENT. (a) On receipt of a
complaint alleging a violation by a driver of the drug and alcohol
policy under Section 2402.102 or the discrimination policy under
Section 2402.103, the transportation network company shall:
(1) conduct an investigation into the reported
incident;
(2) immediately suspend the driver's access to the
company's digital network for the duration of the investigation;
and
(3) permanently suspend the driver's access if the
company determines that the driver has violated the policy.
(b) The transportation network company shall maintain
records relevant to a complaint for a period of at least two years
after the date the complaint is received.
Sec. 2402.105. NO STREET HAILS. Unless authorized by other
law, including Section 215.004, Local Government Code, a driver
authorized to access a transportation network company's digital
network may not solicit or accept street hails.
SUBCHAPTER D. TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY REQUIREMENTS
Sec. 2402.151. DISCLOSURE OF RATES; ESTIMATED FARES. A
transportation network company shall, before a passenger enters a
driver's vehicle, provide the passenger with:
(1) the applicable rates being charged for the ride;
and
(2) the option to receive an estimated fare.
Sec. 2402.152. ELECTRONIC RECEIPT. Within a reasonable
period of time following the completion of a ride, a transportation
network company shall transmit an electronic receipt to the
passenger that lists:
(1) the origin and destination of the ride;
(2) the total time and distance of the ride; and
(3) an itemization of the total fare paid, if any.
Sec. 2402.153. IDENTIFICATION OF VEHICLES AND DRIVERS. A
transportation network company's digital network must display to a
passenger, before the passenger enters the vehicle:
(1) a picture of the driver; and
(2) the vehicle's license plate number.
Sec. 2402.154. ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORTATION; SURCHARGE. (a) A
transportation network company shall provide passengers an
opportunity to indicate whether they require a
wheelchair-accessible vehicle. If a transportation network company
is unable to arrange wheelchair-accessible service, the company
shall direct the passenger to an alternate provider of
wheelchair-accessible service, if available.
(b) The department may impose a fee, not to exceed $20,000
annually, on transportation network companies that have more than
200 drivers and that do not provide, at a minimum level determined
by commission rule, wheelchair-accessible service. The department
shall remit the fees to the comptroller for deposit in a trust fund
outside the state treasury to be held by the comptroller and
administered by the department to provide grants to transportation
network companies to provide wheelchair-accessible service.
(c) A grant distributed under Subsection (b):
(1) may be in an amount not to exceed $15,000; and
(2) may be distributed only to a company that meets the
minimum level of wheelchair-accessible service as determined by
commission rule.
Sec. 2402.155. RECORDS. A transportation network company
shall maintain:
(1) individual ride records for at least two years
after the date the ride was provided; and
(2) driver records at least until the second
anniversary of the date on which a driver's activation on the
company's digital network has ended.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.