SENATE DOCKET, NO. 510        FILED ON: 1/17/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1157

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Sal N. DiDomenico

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act regulating labor standards for transportation network drivers.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 510        FILED ON: 1/17/2023

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1157

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 1181 OF 2021-2022.]

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)

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An Act regulating labor standards for transportation network drivers.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 159 A½  of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following sections:-

Section 12. For purposes of this section, “potential rider” is defined as an individual who seeks and confirms through a ride sharing application for transportation from a location to a subsequent location. (a) A transportation network company shall pay to a driver not less than 80 per cent of the: (i) fare collected from each pre-arranged ride completed; and (ii) fee collected for each ride cancelled at the request of a potential rider. Each transportation network company shall provide a quarterly report of such payments to the department. The report shall include the: (i) number of pre-arranged rides completed by its drivers during the quarter; (ii) fare amount collected from each completed ride during the quarter; (iii) fee amount collected for each ride cancelled at the request of a potential rider; and (iv) total amount paid to all the transportation network drivers during the quarter. 

(b) The department shall collect 5 cents from the fare collected by a transportation network company for each completed pre-arranged ride. The amounts collected shall be reserved for compensation to drivers and their families for wage replacement and medical costs in matters where a driver is injured while working. The shares collected shall be placed into the Transportation Network Company Drivers Fund established in section 2LLLLL of chapter 29. 

(c) Violations of this section shall be subject to section 6.

Section 13. Every five years, the city council or select board of each municipality shall assess and determine a pre-set number of permits under this chapter to be granted to a transportation network company or transportation network driver for a transportation network company for operation within the municipality.

SECTION 2. Notwithstanding and special or general law to the contrary, the department of public utilities shall conduct a study on the prospective adoption of issuing vehicle utilization standards and regulations on limiting the number of issued transportation network company vehicle licenses in the commonwealth. The report shall include: (i) the potential costs to the commonwealth, including the cost to each municipality; (ii) the effect on the residents of the commonwealth, including environmental burdens, affects on environmental justice communities and gateway communities, and traffic congestion in each municipality; and (iii) the department’s recommendations on addressing the aforementioned burdens based on the collected data. During the course of the study, the commonwealth shall not issue any new ride share vehicle permits, with an exception of wheelchair accessible vehicles. The department shall publish the report on its website not later than 1 year after the effective date of this act.  

SECTION 3. Subsection (b) of section 13 of chapter 159A½ of the General Laws shall take effect upon the publishing of the study required pursuant section 2.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2023.