Liam Conner
ST. PAULO, Min. – Democrats responsible for the Minnesota legislature and DFL Governor Tim Walz on Saturday night announced they had reached a deal that would pay ride-hailing drivers more per trip but also keep Uber and Lyft operating in the state, after the companies planned to leave this summer due to a Minneapolis ordinance.
The settlement rate, according to DFL House Majority Leader Jamie Long, is $1.28 per mile and 31 cents per minute, which he told reporters equates to a pay increase of 20% for drivers. It also includes other protections and benefits for drivers.
An Uber representative confirmed to WCCO that the agreement means the company will still operate in the state, but a formal statement will be released after the final text of the bill is published. A Lyft spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Both companies have been working with lawmakers and lobbying for a statewide solution.
Democrats unveiled the deal shortly before 10pm on Saturday night, in the final critical hours of the session, where the fate of many policies is still uncertain because the Senate acted on only one bill before going into recess because of this negotiation.
“This is the strongest [transportation network companies] bill in the country – the protections, the insurance, the opt-out provisions and the payment,” said Rep. Hodan Hassan, DFL-Minneapolis, one of the lead authors. “This is a great bill.”
Long also said the new proposal — which still needs to be approved by the House and Senate — would nullify the Minneapolis city ordinance that mandatory driver pays $1.40 per mile and $0.51 per minute. Uber and Lyft said they would leave Minneapolis on July 1st when this provision came into force, which reignited the debate in the capital to approve legislation establishing rules for the entire state.
Walz vetoed a different ridesharing bill last year.
“I don’t think any of us who are here for this are in favor of preemption, but we advocate for the best deal we could get for drivers. And this was the best deal we could get for drivers,” Long said. “We fought hard, we negotiated as much as we could with Uber and Lyft, and that was their condition the whole time.”
The Minnesota Senate was in recess for 10 hours on Saturday and the majority did not provide details on why — only that end-of-session negotiations were happening behind closed doors. In her motion Saturday morning to halt the chamber’s work, DFL Senator Majority Leader Erin Murphy initially said it would be brief because of the long list of pending bills the chamber needed to act on in the final hours. of the session.
The rest of the schedule remains in question Saturday night as time is running out. Lawmakers must adjourn on Monday and pass all bills by 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
“When you’re ready to come to the conclusion, there’s a lot of intensity, and we’ve made sure, for the important purpose of this legislation, that we’re taking the time necessary to do that,” Murphy said when asked about recess hours.
Republican leaders have criticized Democrats for leaving them out of ride-sharing negotiations. They said they only found out about the agreement when the press conference took place.
“We represent 50% of the state and we were kept in the dark the entire time tonight,” said Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks. “So it’s very disappointing to see everything that was released here today.”
Neither Johnson nor House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, has committed GOP support to the proposal at this time, although Republicans were urging Democrats to act on ridesharing before the end of the session and had introduced a preemption bill early in the session.
This story is developing and will be updated.
Caroline Cummings
