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Texas Legislature Clears Road For Uber and Lyft To Return To Austin (austinmonitor.com)
schwit1 shared this article from the Austin Monitor:
The Texas Legislature has cleared the road for Uber and Lyft to return to Austin on their own terms. On Wednesday, the state Senate overwhelmingly approved House Bill 100 on second and third readings, sending the statewide ride-hailing regulations to Governor Greg Abbott's desk for his signature. If Abbott signs it, as he is expected to do, the new law will preempt regulations City Council passed in December 2015 that both Uber and Lyft deemed too restrictive on transportation network companies such as themselves.
The new rules still require criminal background checks, but drop the requirement for fingerprinting. "We find it unfortunate that the 36 lobbyists deployed by the Silicon Valley giants were effective in convincing the State Legislature that there was a need to overrule the Austin voters," said a local ride-sharing company, which vowed to continue operating -- and to at least continue fingerprinting their own drivers. Houston's mayor complained the new statewide rules handed down are "another example of the legislature circumventing local control to allow corporations to profit at the expense of public safety."
The new rules still require criminal background checks, but drop the requirement for fingerprinting. "We find it unfortunate that the 36 lobbyists deployed by the Silicon Valley giants were effective in convincing the State Legislature that there was a need to overrule the Austin voters," said a local ride-sharing company, which vowed to continue operating -- and to at least continue fingerprinting their own drivers. Houston's mayor complained the new statewide rules handed down are "another example of the legislature circumventing local control to allow corporations to profit at the expense of public safety."
Yes, Houston is a shit hole, but it seems to be transitioning away from oil and gas and into health care.
Having had a close-up look over the past year, I can attest that all of Texas is a shit hole and much of the shittiness comes from the state legislature and the governor's office. Audacious gerrymandering has turned the state into a one-party system that would make North Korea envious. There is inexorable change coming, though. The thing about gerrymandering is that it only works for a while and you start to get diminishing returns.
Unfortunately, that still won't do anything about the fact that Texas is one of the most physically ugly places on Earth. Geographically-speaking. I've never been anywhere less picturesque.
You are welcome on my lawn.