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Bill to regulate Uber, Lyft headed to Senate floor

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A bill that would create a regulatory framework for transportation network companies in Florida cleared the Senate Rules Committee, teeing it up for a vote in the full Senate within the coming days. Sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, the bill (SB 340) would require Uber and Lyft to carry $100,000 of insurance for bodily injury or death and $25,000 for property damage while a driver is logged onto their app but hasn’t secured a passenger. While a rider is in…

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Tampa Bay Partnership hails House passage of ride-sharing bill

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Heading into the 2017 Legislative Session, the Tampa Bay Partnership listed the creation of a regional transit agency connecting four Tampa Bay-area counties as its top priority. Another priority was the desire to see a bill passed regulating ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft. It’s closer to achieving success on the latter, with the Florida House voting unanimously Wednesday for a bill sponsored by Republicans Chris Sprowls and Jamie Grant. “Ride-sharing is an integral component of a multi-modal regional transportation system and a cost-effective, private…

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Ride-sharing legislation speeds ahead in Florida House

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A bill that would create the first statewide law regulating ride-sharing companies passed unanimously in the Florida House on Wednesday, 115-0. Now it moves to the Senate. It’s the second straight year that such a bill has passed in the Florida House, but the chances of it getting through the Senate are considered much greater than in 2016. The legislation, sponsored by Palm Harbor Republican Chris Sprowls and Tampa Republican Jamie Grant (HB 221) requires ride-sharing companies to have third-parties conduct local and national criminal…

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House gets one step closer to passing statewide regs on Uber, Lyft

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Legislation to regulate transportation network companies (TNC) in Florida advanced Tuesday on its second reading through the Florida House. The bill sponsored by Palm Harbor Republican Chris Sprowls and Tampa Republican Jamie Grant (HB 221) requires ride-sharing companies to have third-parties conduct local and national criminal background checks on drivers. “That includes a multistage, multi-jurisdictional background check, a search of the National Sex Offender website, and a review of the public driving history of the applicant,” Sprowls said on the House floor. Although…

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House, Senate move in different directions on building code reform

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Bills to change the way the Florida Building Code is updated continue to move through the Legislature, but the House and Senate now appear to be taking a different approach to reforming the system. The House Careers & Competition Subcommittee voted unanimously last week to approve legislation (HB 901) that would keep international and national building codes as the baseline for the Florida Building Codes, but would require the Florida Building Commission to update the code every five years instead…

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Unless changes made, Joe Redner says he’ll sue over Legislature’s medical marijuana bill

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Advocates of Amendment 2, which legalized medical marijuana in Florida, have been expressing disdain for HB 1397, moving through the Legislature this Session, sponsored by Fort Myers Republican Ray Rodrigues. “Folks, this bill is bad,” wrote Ben Pollara, head of United for Care, the organization that campaigned for the constitutional amendment that passed with more than 71 percent support of Floridians last fall. “If passed, it would basically cancel out the vote we had last fall, if not make the situation worse,” Pollara…

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Cosmetics industry hopeful third time is the charm for reform bill

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Cosmetic manufacturers are hopeful state lawmakers will take action this year to eliminate a policy requiring them to get approval before taking a product to market, a lengthy process that industry officials say goes above and beyond federal requirements. The industry has been pushing for the change for several years now, but think a recent report from the Florida Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability bolsters their calls for change. According to the Feb. 21 research memo,…

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