ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia legislators have filed several bills aimed at forcing popular ride-sharing businesses like Uber to conduct more rigorous background checks on its contract drivers.
Uber spokesman Taylor Bennett said Wednesday that the House bills would make it hard for the company to operate in Georgia.
Republican Rep. Alan Powell of Hartwell says Uber is paying thousands of Georgians to use their own cars as taxis without regulation. He says his goal is not to "run them out of the state" but to prevent Uber from ducking state and federal rules.
Bennett, however, says Uber's background checks are more thorough than those required for taxi and limo drivers. Powell says that's not true. Bennett claims Uber charges 30 percent to 50 percent less than taxis.
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