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House advances bill requiring rideshare reporting, stronger penalties for service-animal discrimination
Summary
The House passed House Bill 10-43 to require expanded reporting by transportation network companies on discriminatory conduct, increase administrative fines, and mandate driver education on service-animal and disability law; sponsors said it will improve transparency and accountability for riders with disabilities.
The House on May 5 advanced House Bill 10-43, a bill aimed at addressing discriminatory refusals of rides to passengers with service animals and other accessibility needs. Sponsors said the measure would require more frequent reporting from transportation network companies (TNCs) to the Public Utilities Commission, create a dedicated data stream to track alleged discrimination, and raise the maximum civil penalty available to regulators.
"What we are looking to do with this bill is to address that and we're doing 3 specific things," Representative Bridal said on the floor, outlining monthly reporting requirements, public tracking of complaints and an increase in the PUC fine from $550 to $1,300. She said the goal was to rebuild trust with people who had reported incidents and to give regulators tools to intervene.
Members who testified to the bill described constituents who were left stranded after drivers canceled when they saw a service animal. Representative Haskell said a constituent who is blind had a ride canceled after a driver saw a service dog, and supported stronger reporting and technical fixes: "Being a software engineer, my first thought... the rideshare companies could easily set up their applications" to avoid mismatches, she said.
Floor exchanges addressed reasonable accommodations for drivers (for example, severe allergies) and whether mandatory education requirements should include carveouts. Representative Bradley asked how drivers with legitimate medical accommodations would be treated, and sponsors responded that medically necessary accommodations could be documented and factored into investigations. The sponsor said mandatory education covers broader ADA topics beyond service animals and reflects current training practices that are not always completed in practice.
The House passed the committee report and then the bill by voice vote. Supporters said the measure strengthens mechanisms to track and remedy discriminatory conduct toward riders with disabilities; opponents expressed concerns about enforcement practicality and driver accommodations but were reassured by the bill's investigative and complaint-resolution provisions.
What's next: The bill was reported to the floor and passed; it will proceed through final-reading procedures and to the governor if adopted on third reading.
