Representative Lisa Subeck Responds to Signing of Transportation Network Company Legislation

MADISON – At 10:30 on Friday night, Governor Scott Walker signed Assembly Bill 143, now Act 16, into law. This legislation opens the door to so-called Transportation Network Companies (TNC) statewide, stripping municipalities of the ability to regulate how TNCs like Uber and Lyft operate in our local communities.

The secret late night bill signing came days after Representative Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) and other Dane County legislators sent a letter to Governor Walker urging a veto of the bill in light of two reported sexual assaults involving Uber drivers in Madison last week. Uber delayed the ability of the police department to investigate the allegations by refusing to provide even the names of the drivers without a subpoena or warrant. The Governor did not respond to the concerns raised in the letter.

Representative Lisa Subeck released the following statement in response to the secret late night bill signing by the Governor:

“I am disappointed Governor Walker failed to address our serious safety concerns and refused to veto the bill. Considering two reported incidents of sexual assault and Uber’s lack of cooperation with the Madison Police Department, it is no wonder that the Governor chose to sign the bill late at night and behind closed doors.

Wisconsin now has the weakest regulations among all states that have passed statewide TNC legislation. After signing the bill, the Governor made claims of strict safety measures, failing to acknowledge the bill has no mechanism for licensing drivers and allows the kind of stonewalling by Uber that the Madison Police Department has experienced during the recent sexual assault investigations.

The bill was rammed through the Legislature in a matter of only a couple of weeks at the behest of Uber’s lobbyists to satisfy the demands of one multi-billion dollar international corporation, so it should come as no surprise that the safety of our local communities has taken the backseat. Unfortunately, here in Madison, we are already seeing the harm this dangerous legislation causes.

The Governor chose to ignore the very real public safety consequences of this legislation when he signed the bill in secret while most Wisconsinites were already fast asleep. No legislation that is good for the people of Wisconsin gets signed at 10:30 on a Friday night.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.