Perhaps the biggest surprise in the session's final days was the foundering of Senate Bill 867, a bipartisan - backed bill requiring
fingerprint background checks for teacher licensure that, as Policy Watch reported, spurred concerns that the bill could dissuade acts of protest among educators.
Uber and Lyft left Austin last year after losing an expensive fight against a ballot measure that would have required the ride - hail companies to
conduct fingerprint background checks on drivers.
They complained that DMV won't be conducting its own
fingerprint background checks on drivers and said local cab companies may no longer be able to afford offering heavily discounted rides to seniors.
That's nothing compared to the more than $ 8 million Uber and competitor Lyft reportedly spent fighting an Austin rule requiring drivers to
undergo fingerprint background checks, only to lose a vote in May and pull their services from the city.
«State lawmakers and city councils have specifically called for
fingerprint background checks in any ridesharing bill because they believe upstate passengers should be just as safe as those downstate.»
In addition to asking a court to mandate that Uber
implement fingerprint background checks — a measure the company has vehemently opposed — the plaintiffs are asking a judge to order Uber to perform national criminal background checks on its drivers every six months, and to bar registered sex offenders or people with rape or assault convictions from driving for Uber no matter how long ago it was, along with other measures.
Sam Spokony, a spokesman for the Upstate Transportation Association, has been bombarding reporters with reasons that ride - hailing should drop out of budget talks, most of which involve recent public relations mishaps by Uber executives and its reluctance to
allow fingerprint background checks.
«It comes down to this: The riding public of Nassau County needs to be safe, and they're not going to be safe without a government -
conducted fingerprint background check,» said Larry Blessinger, who runs several taxi and limousine companies in Nassau and serves as president of the Nassau & Suffolk Taxi Owners Association.
The taxi industry is pushing back, saying in a statement that Uber and Lyft drivers on Long Island and upstate should
undergo fingerprint background checks, just like regular taxi cab drivers.
Ever since Uber's and Lyft's self - exile from Austin last June, following the city's vote to require
fingerprint background checks, the Texas capitol's ride - hailing market has been filled by a roster of third - party apps.
This bipartisan effort will provide organizations serving children and other vulnerable populations such as the elderly and individuals with disabilities with access to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
fingerprint background checks to screen prospective volunteers and employees.
Upstate New Yorkers who want ridesharing also want to stay safe — and the only answer is
fingerprint background checks that keep violent criminals out of the driver's seat.»
The changes would pave the way for Uber and other apps to expand with little or no regulation on issues like wheelchair - accessible vehicles,
fingerprint background checks and fair driver pay.
Sealed results of
the fingerprint background check, unless a local DC school district is providing results to the licensing office on the candidate's behalf.
Fingerprint Background Screening Ordinance On July 10th, the City of Austin, Texas issued a «follow - up» ordinance creating fines for ride - sharing companies that fail to comply with
its fingerprint background check requirements for drivers.
What I have learned is that policymakers at the state and federal level rely heavily on the advice of law enforcement, and that their first inclination is to mandate
a fingerprint background check solution.