From today’s The Hill:
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) vetoed a bill that would have required a pay raise for ride-booking drivers after Uber threatened to stop its services in most of the state over the legislation.
The state House and Senate both narrowly passed the bill earlier this month to establish a minimum wage for gig workers, including drivers for the companies Uber and Lyft.
The Minnesota Star-Tribune reported the legislation would require that ride-booking drivers be paid at least $1.45 per mile driven and at least 34 cents per minute.
But Walz’s office said in a release that he chose to veto the bill, deciding that it should not become law at least in its current form. The release states that Walz also issued an executive order to commission a study on the topic and form a working group to propose recommendations for rideshare legislation during the next session.
Uber spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein said the company would stop operating outside the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area starting Aug. 1 if the bill became law. She vowed the company would also only offer premium rides that would charge consumers more to match what the bill requires.
Read the complete story here.