Regulations For Uber, Lyft Clear Another Nevada Hurdle

Nevada lawmakers gave preliminary approval Monday to regulations for ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft, a move that puts the rules one hurdle away from being final.

The 12-member Legislative Commission this week voted to greenlight the rules, which include additional detail and specific fees beyond what’s in the bills that legislators passed this spring to authorize the companies. Regulators with the Nevada Transportation Authority have scheduled an adoption hearing for Sept. 11 and could give final approval to the regulations then.

It’s still not clear when ride-hailing companies will be on the road in Nevada. Sen. Michael Roberson said lawmakers intended them to be operating by this summer, but state regulators were hesitant to put an exact date on their debut when pressed by legislators.

Companies such as Uber and Lyft must submit applications and be approved by state officials within 30 days if they meet the requirements of the bill. None have done that yet.

Nevada Transportation Authority chief Andrew Mackay said he expects cars will be in service sometime in September.

Other concerns raised during the hearing:

Lawmakers asked whether individual Uber or Lyft drivers would need to get business licenses. MacKay said the Secretary of State’s office would make that determination, and individual municipalities could decide whether to add their own licensing processes on top of that.
Commission members raised questions about the hefty fees imposed upon ride-hailing companies. The large firms would have to pay a $300,000 application fee, and would have to pay 1 percent of their gross operating revenue from Nevada back to the state for administrative expenses. The money would help the agency hire eight new employees to handle the increased workload, at a cost of about $700,000 a year.
Lawmakers asked about drug testing of ride-hailing company drivers. MacKay said that legislators considered it this spring, but ultimately did not adopt that as part of the law, and said that adding it in to the regulations would likely violate the law.

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