Uber threatens to leave state if bill passes.
Iowa Bill Would Set Statewide Regulations for Uber, Others
A transportation
bill passed by the Iowa House would set regulations for
transportation companies like Uber that use apps to connect passengers with
drivers.
Uber, however, has said it might stop operating in Iowa if
the bill becomes law. The company objects to the part of the law requiring
comprehensive and collision insurance for drivers using cars with liens, The
Gazette reported. Uber stopped operating in Kansas last year until that state
repealed a similar law.
But insurers have urged passage of the bill. “We have a lien we’ve
made, the loan on the vehicle the Uber driver is using…. We want to know it’s
insured,” Jim Carney, a lobbyist for Wells Fargo, told The Gazette.
State
Rep. Peter Cownie said in a letter in the Des Moines Register that he hopes an
agreement can be reached. “I hope the Senate will act on what the House has
done, and I hope Uber will be part of the process. This is important not only
for the safety of Iowans, but as a symbol that the Iowa Legislature wants to
welcome new industry to our state.”