Ridesharing programs like Uber and Lyft have quickly become the go-to mode of transportation for many people.
"I use Uber because I put them on my phone and I call them, and about three minutes later, they show up,” Texas Business Association CEO Bill Hammond said.
Hammond gives Uber his business but says individual cities across the state haven't been as user friendly.
"What this is about is the cities siding with the incumbents, not allowing competition,” Hammond said.
Because ridesharing technology is relatively new, cities have taken it upon themselves to regulate these companies, and in some cases, make it so they couldn’t legally to operate.
"There's a consumer demand out there, and unfortunately, some cities are setting up barriers to them operating, so we have to come to the state to seek a standard regulation so that Uber and others like it – Lyft and others – can operate across the state and respond to the demand of the consumers,” Hammond said.
House Bill 2440 would create a statewide template for ridesharing companies to operate under.
"The biggest concern Uber has is uniformity,” Rep. Lyle Larson said. “They want to have a consistency that everybody understands the rules."
The bill creates a statewide framework for things like licensing, regulation, insurance and background checks for drivers.
"The bill is going to push back a lot of the background checks, and whether they want to finger print them or not, that was the big sticking point with the city of San Antonio's ordinance, so you're going to have a lot more participation across the state if this bill passes,” Larson said.
Larson says it won't only help bigger cities who already use ride sharing, but smaller towns as well.
"Communities where you've got 5,000 people, they don't have a taxi cab service. You've got some kids that are going to college; they want to make some extra money; they want to provide a service if folks are drinking; they can be the designated driver and be compensated for it,” Larson said.
The bill has less than a month to get voted out of both chambers and signed by the governor. If not, it'll be another two years before Texas could see a uniform law like this in place.
Uber and Lyft have gotten some push back from traditional taxi companies. In a number of states, they’ve been fighting legislation because the states are looking to implement insurance standards the ridesharing companies say are too strict.