Rep. Mason Rideshare Bill Passes In Assembly and Senate

I was proud to see legislation I co-authored on rideshare, AB 143, pass through both the State Assembly and Senate last week.

AB143 creates a statewide licensure program for transportation network
companies - commonly known as rideshare services - like Uber and Lyft to operate in communities like Racine.

The bill makes sure to take public safety into account by requiring background checks on drivers and disallowing people with certain criminal convictions from being employed as a driver. It also requires that either the driver or the company acquire $1 million in liability insurance to protect individuals from the time they are picked up to the time they arrive at their destination.

Rideshare services make perfect sense for the Racine community where cabs are scarce and public transportation often fails to meet the urgent needs of riders. Rideshare allows individuals without their own method of reliable transportation the opportunity to travel safely and reach their destination in a timely manner.

Recently, the Racine Journal Times endorsed regulating rideshare companies statewide. The editorial board stated that "This issue should be addressed head on now instead of piecemeal across the state, where likely the program would operate unregulated until rules could be established."

I look forward to AB143 becoming law in Wisconsin and eagerly await the day rideshare services begin to serve the people of our community.

Click here to read the full editorial on my legislative website: http://1.usa.gov/1zInkSC

Honoring the 45th Anniversary
of Earth Day

Today, people across the globe celebrate the 45th anniversary of Earth Day, a day founded by Wisconsin's very own Senator Gaylord Nelson.
The annual celebration was originally created to not only spark volunteer service, but to galvanize a movement that could effect real change in the form of environmental policy.
 
In the spirit of the original foundation of Earth Day, I joined Rep. Gary Hebl (D-Sun Prairie) and my fellow Assembly Democratic colleagues to hold an Earth Day press conference to raise concerns about proposals in the Republican budget related to Wisconsin's natural resources.

The Republican budget looks to cut funding for the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship program and prevent land conservation efforts. It also shifts away research-based conservation policies by eliminating 66 federally funded science and education positions at the Department of Natural Resources.

Along with a budget that fails to protect Wisconsin's natural resources, both the governor and Republicans in the legislature have remained silent on the Board of Commissioners of Public Land's recent vote to ban BCLP Secretary Tia Nelson - and daughter of Sen. Gaylord Nelson - from "engaging in global warming or climate change work."

Today is the right day to honor Senator Nelson by rejecting the stewardship freeze and restoring science and education positions to the very department we rely on to protect our environment.

Read our Earth Day press release here: http://bit.ly/1yRj3Bc