LUBBOCK, Texas -
Voters in Austin rejected Saturday Proposition 1, choosing to keep in place an ordinance the City Council approved in December, requiring drivers with ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft to undergo fingerprint background checks.
Uber and Lyft together spent more than $8 million campaigning against the proposition, saying the fingerprint checks put an unnecessary burden on drivers who already undergo criminal background checks.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said, "You're not supposed to win elections when the other side outspends you 80 to 1, but I think the issues were clear without regard to spending on either side."
Both Uber and Lyft vowed to leave the city if the proposition failed.
"It's very easy for them to comply," said Austin City Councilwoman, Kathie Tovo, "they have time to do so and so there's absolutely no reason for them to leave our city and I hope they'll reconsider that decision."
With Lubbock City Council looking at changing its own regulations with regard to ride-hailing services, there are concerns from the public -- namely students at Texas Tech -- that Uber could be driven out of town here.
Councilwoman Karen Gibson said those concerns are unfounded.
"As a matter of fact, I've already talked to [Uber] today and they're reassured me that our ordinance is good to go," she said. "They have looked at it again. We've got some Is to dot and Ts to cross, but everything looks good to go here."
The proposed ordinance would require drivers to undergo background checks, something that Uber already requires. The Lubbock ordinance does not include fingerprint checks.
State Sen. Charles Schwertner announced he will be filing a bill in the upcoming legislative session designed to consistently regulate services like Uber and Lyft at the state level.
Schwertner, the Senator out of Georgetown, just north of Austin, said it's more and more clear that ride-hailing companies can't operate through inconsistent and competitive regulations and "as a state with a long tradition of supporting the free market, Texas should not accept transparent, union-driven efforts to create new barriers to entry for the sole purpose of stifling innovations and eliminating competition."
