Democrats are worried Republicans will turn a Lyft and Uber regulation bill moving through the Minnesota Legislature into something that would override local minimum wage and family leave ordinances, similar to last year’s attempt. Brooklyn Park D-F-Ler Michael Nelson warns of “seeing this on the floor and becoming the Christmas tree, added on all the stuff and all the preemption stuff that… kind of blew up at the end of session.” Cohasset Republican Sandy Layman responds, “This is not a Christmas tree bill. This is complex enough as it is.”
Opponents warn Layman’s bill will kill the taxi industry in Minnesota by giving Uber and Lyft an unfair competitive advantage. Backers respond uniform regulations in the bill have *not* done that in other states.
More in this excerpt from Tuesday’s House committee hearing: