HOUSTON – Do you rely on Uber or Lyft to get around town?
A controversial ride-sharing bill that was just proposed could change how safe you are the next time you need a ride.
The bill would drop the state mandate for fingerprint background checks and rely instead on the companies themselves to run criminal checks on drivers. It also would allow ride-sharing companies to conduct their own internal investigations when someone complains about a driver.
"Right now, we have a patchwork of fairly inconsistent and somewhat arbitrary regulation across the state," state Sen. Charles Schwertner said. "What this bill does is pre-empt those municipal regulations and put in place a fair and consistent framework to regulate ride-sharing."
Houstonians remember when Uber pulled out of Austin. A main sticking point for both sides was fingerprinting. Uber refused to fingerprint its drivers.
"There (is) lots of documented research about fingerprints being ineffective because records aren’t updated to national databases," said Sarfraz Maredia, a general manager with Uber.
But Austin’s fingerprint checks flagged drivers who had been missed by Uber’s security checks.
In Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner and Uber have agreed to have drivers fingerprinted.
That agreement was nicely timed -- just ahead of the Super Bowl, when more than 1 million people are expected to attend at least one Super Bowl-themed event.
So, what happens when the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons leave town?
Turner’s office said it will still require fingerprinting. Uber says otherwise.
"Our stance hasn’t changed in any way on fingerprinting," said Trevor Theunissen, the public policy manager for Uber. "This is a compromise to improve the driver licensing process so we can get through the Super Bowl."
Channel 2 contacted Houston-area state representatives and senators to find out if the bill would have their support. Most responded either by saying they were unfamiliar with the bill, or had not had a chance to review the fine print.
We will keep track of the legislation as it works its way through committee hearings.