Title
Approval of an Ordinance Amending Title 5 of the Olympia Municipal Code by Repealing Chapter 5.11 - Transportation Network Companies
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to approve on second reading an Ordinance Amending Title 5 of the Olympia Municipal Code by Repealing Chapter 5.11 - Transportation Network Companies
Report
Issue:
Whether to approve on second reading an Ordinance Amending Title 5 of the Olympia Municipal Code by Repealing Chapter 5.11 - Transportation Network Companies.
Staff Contact:
Mark Barber, City Attorney, 360.753.8338
Presenter(s):
None - Consent Calendar Item.
Background and Analysis:
Background and Analysis did not change from first to second reading.
Olympia Municipal Code (OMC) Chapter 5.11 relating to the regulation of transportation network companies (such as Uber and Lyft) was enacted in 2016.
In 2022, the Legislature enacted ESHB 2076, making Washington the first state to require minimum per-trip payments, paid sick leave, and workers' compensation benefits for rideshare drivers, and also provides that drivers will remain classified as independent contractors - not employees - and expressly forbids local governments from imposing new regulations on transport network companies.
Except for certain exceptions which relate solely to Seattle and King County, the session law provided that ". . . as of the effective date of this section, the state preempts the field of regulating transportation network companies and drivers. No county, city, town, or other municipal corporation may regulate transportation network companies or drivers, or impose any tax, fee, or other charge, on a transportation network company or driver." [Emphasis added.] However, a county, city , town, or other municipal corporation may continue to impose generally applicable business, sales, use, excise, or property taxes.
Since the state has preempted the regulation o...
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