SB 415 — AN ACT CONCERNING TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANIES AND RIDER SAFETY.

2506467 6 ofsSB415 10File RaisedNo. Bill No.415 sexual offenses, use of a motor vehicle to commit a felony, acts of violence or acts of terror;

467 sexual offenses, use of a motor vehicle to commit a felony, acts of violence or acts of terror;

(3) Not later than five days after a transportation network company permanently bans a transportation network company driver's access to the company's digital network due to a nonconsensual sexual actassault or activity,assault attemptresulting atin aanother nonconsensualperson's sexualdeath act or activity or assault that caused serious physical injury,injury as defined in section 53a-3, to another person that was connected to the driver's use of such digital network, such transportation network company shall notifynotify, eachor registeredcause transportationto networkbe companynotified, ineachregistered thetransportationnetwork statecompany ofinthestate suchofsuchban ban and the driver's first and last name, date ofbirthof birth and motor vehicle operator's license numbernumber. and state of issuance.

(2) Upon the company's receipt of a complaint by a rider alleging a violation of such policy, the company shall suspend the driver's access LCOto No.the company's digital network as soon as possible and conduct an investigation into the reported incident.

2506The 7suspension ofshall 10last Raiseduntil BillsSB415 No.415/ toFile theNo. company's digital network as soon as possible and conduct an investigation into the reported incident.

The467 suspension7 shallsSB415 lastFile untilNo. completion of the investigation.

467 completion of the investigation.

The Commissioner of Transportation may, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing LCOpursuant to the provisions of chapter 54, impose a civil penalty of not more than two hundred fifty dollars on any transportation network company for each instance in which a driver using such company's sSB415 / File No.

2506467 8 ofsSB415 10File RaisedNo. Bill No.415 pursuant to the provisions of chapter 54, impose a civil penalty of not more than two hundred fifty dollars on any transportation network company driver who fails to accommodate the service animal of a potential transportation network company rider.

467 digital network fails to accommodate a potential rider accompanied by a service animal.

(Q) LCOcondition No.of tires, including tread depth;

2506 9 of 10 Raised Bill No.

415 condition of tires, including tread depth;

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467 Sec.

4.

Subsection (e) of section 13b-117 of the 2026 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026):

(e) Not later than [January 1, 2026] February 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, each transportation network company registered in the state shall submit a report to the Commissioner of Transportation, in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner.

Each such report shall use aggregate data from the preceding year and include the following information:

(1) The average fare collected from transportation network company riders, (2) the total time transportation network company drivers spent providing prearranged rides, and (3) the total compensation paid to transportation network company drivers for the provision of prearranged rides.

Section 1 October 1, 2026 Section 1 13b-116(8) to (10)(11) Sec.

3 October 1, 2026 13b-119 StatementSec. of Purpose:

To4 requireOctober a1, transportation2026 network13b-117(e) companyStatement to (1) annually conduct criminal history records checks of transportationLegislative networkCommissioners: company drivers, (2) provide annual sexual misconduct prevention and driver education training, and (3) implement certain safety features through its digital network to ensure the safety of riders.

thatIn whenSection the2(a)(2)(B), entire"Such textsafety offeatures ashall billinclude, orbut resolutionneed ornot abe sectionlimited ofto," awas billchanged orto resolution"Each istransportation new,network itcompany isshall, notat underlined.]a LCOminimum, No.provide the following safety features:" for clarity.

2506TRA 10Joint ofFavorable 10Subst.

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467 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $ State Revenues GF&TF - Minimal Minimal Potential Revenue Gain Note:

GF&TF=General Fund & Transportation Fund Municipal Impact:

Municipalities Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $ Various Municipalities Potential Minimal Minimal Revenue Gain Explanation The bill results in potential minimal revenue gain from fines and penalties by modifying Transportation Network Company (TNC) requirements, including a new civil penalty of up to $250 on a TNC for each time a TNC driver fails to accommodate a rider with a service animal.

Under current law, 50% of fines from certain violations of CGS.

Sec.

13b-119 (Section 3 of the bill) are remitted to municipalities.

Other fine revenue would go to the General Fund and civil penalty revenue to the Special Transportation Fund.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to any fines or penalties imposed.

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467 OLR Bill Analysis sSB 415 AN ACT CONCERNING TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANIES AND RIDER SAFETY.

SUMMARY This bill makes changes in laws on Transportation Network Companies (TNCs, such as Uber and Lyft;

see below) by generally requiring them to implement certain additional rider safety measures.

For example, the bill requires TNCs to provide certain safety features to riders and notify them of these features.

The bill also includes various provisions specifically related to sexual assault and assault prevention, such as requiring (1) potential drivers to disclose in their application to a TNC instances of prior discipline related to allegations of sexual assault or assault and (2) TNCs to provide, and require each TNC driver to complete, an annual training on sexual assault prevention and driver education.

Italsoauthorizesthetransportationcommissioner,aftergivingnotice and a hearing opportunity according to the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act, to impose a civil penalty of up to $250 on any TNC for each time a driver using the company’s digital network fails to accommodate a potential rider with a service animal.

By law, TNC drivers must (1) comply with all applicable laws related to accommodating service animals and (2) accommodate service animals at no additional charge.

Lastly, the bill delays, from January 1, 2026, to February 1, 2027, the date by which Connecticut-registered TNCs must begin to annually report certain aggregate data to the transportation commissioner (the average fare collected fromTNC riders,thetotaltime TNC driversspent giving prearranged rides, and the total compensation paid to drivers for sSB415 / File No.

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467 these rides).

EFFECTIVE DATE:

October 1, 2026 TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANIES By law,unchanged by thebill, TNCsare businessentitiesthatoperate in Connecticut and use a digital network (generally an online-enabled application, website, or system) to connect TNC riders to TNC drivers for prearranged rides.

(They do not include taxicab certificate or livery permit holders.) TNC drivers are not TNC employees and use vehicles meeting certain requirements to provide these rides while connected to a digital network.

A “prearranged ride” is one that starts when a TNC driveracceptsa ride request throughthedigitalnetwork andendswhen the rider exits the vehicle.

RIDER SAFETY REQUIREMENTS Notice of Required Safety Features After a potential TNC rider requests a prearranged ride, the bill requires TNCs, through their digital network, to notify the rider about any available safety features that can be used during the ride.

The bill requires TNCs to provide at least the following features:

1.

location sharing allowing a rider to share information about the ride with a third party;

2.

an emergency assistance interface or other way to contact a public safety answering point;

3.

optional audio recording, which must notify the driver when in use and comply with applicable state and federal laws on recording communications;

and 4.

available 24-hour support and resources for managing any ride- related incidents, accidents, or emergencies.

Under the bill and existing law, a “public safety answering point” is generally a facility that receives 9-1-1 calls and dispatches emergency response services or transfers calls to other public safety agencies.

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467 Telemetric Monitoring The bill requires TNCs, through their digital network, to (1) have a telemetric monitoring system capable of providing an emergency assistance interface (see above) and (2) allow a third party, through an agreement with the company, to receive, review, and respond in real time to digital network-generated notifications of safety anomalies occurring during a prearranged ride.

Under the bill, “telemetric monitoring” is the continuous, automated collection and evaluation of operational and system performance data that a digital network generates during a ride.

A “safety anomaly” is generally an unexpected event, detected by a digital network, that deviates from a TNC’s performance baselines and may indicate a potential safety risk for a driver or rider (for example, indications of a vehicle accident, departure from the prearranged ride path, or prolonged period of inactivity on the digital network).

New Driver Applications and Annual Training Existing law requires TNCs to take certain actions before allowing a person to drive for the company, including requiring potential drivers to submit an application with their name, address, birthdate, and driver’s license number and vehicle registration.

The bill additionally requires the application to include a written statement disclosing whether thepersonhas ever beensuspendedor permanently banned by a TNC fromitsdigitalnetworkrelatedto anyallegationofsexualassault or assault that caused someone’s death or serious injury connected with the driver’s digital network use.

Under the bill, a “sexual assault” includes 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th degree sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, or sexual assault with a firearm.

A “serious physical injury” is one that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes serious disfigurement, health impairment, or impairment or loss of bodily organ function.

The bill also requires TNCs to provide an annual training on sexual assault prevention and driver education, which they must require each sSB415 / File No.

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467 TNC driver to complete.

The training must include (1) information on preventing, identifying, and reporting sexual assault and (2) instruction on appropriate interactions with riders.

Driver Identity Verification, Background Checks, and Bans Existing law prohibits TNCs from allowing someone to work as a TNC driver for various reasons, such as certain motor vehicle violations and offenses or their inclusion on a state or national sex offender registry.

The bill adds to this list failure to submit periodic identity verification when a TNC requests it through the digital network and the driver is connected to and active on the network.

The bill increases the frequency of the criminal history records checks TNCsmust conduct for eachpersonpermittedto drive forthecompany, to annually rather than every three years as current law requires.

Additionally, the bill requires TNCs to notify (or cause to be notified) each Connecticut-registered TNC within five days after banning a driver’s access to the company’s digital network due to a sexual assault or assault resulting in another person’s death or serious physical injury (see above) connected with the driver’s digital network use.

Under the bill, this notice must include the driver’s first and last name, birthdate, and driver’s license number.

RIDER IDENTITY VERIFICATION Under the bill, when drivers are offered a prearranged ride, the TNC must display through its digital network whether the requesting rider (or third party requesting the ride on their behalf) is verified by the company.

A TNC must designate someone as verified if the company has authenticated their identity using certain means (submission of a valid photograph, comparison of the person’s account with records anotherpartymaintains,oranyothermethodthatreasonably allowsthe company to confirm their identity).

The bill specifies that if a driver declines a rideoffer for someone who is unverified, this does not alone give the TNC grounds to take disciplinary action against the driver, including suspension or sSB415 / File No.

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467 deactivation (restricting their access to the digital network).

COMMITTEE ACTION Transportation Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 36 Nay 0 (03/16/2026) sSB415 / File No.

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