An Ordinance of the City of Jackson, Mississippi Regulating Transportation Network Companies (Priester)

Whereas, the City of Jackson wishes to oversee transportation network companies in a manner that establishes safety and consumer protections and ensures marketplace fairness, therefore it is hereby resolved as follows. 

SECTION 1.  Chapter 126 of the General Laws of the City of Jackson, Mississippi is hereby amended by inserting after ARTICLE IX an “Article X” entitled “Transportation Network Companies.”

SECTION 2. Chapter 126 of the General Laws of the City of Jackson is hereby amended by inserting into “Article X – Transportation Network Companies” the following sections

Section 126-501. –Definitions.

The following words and phrases used in Article X of this chapter shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise. To the extent that the vehicle, passenger, driver, company, or matter being addressed pertains to a Transportation Network Company as defined in this Section 126-501, the definition provided in this Section 126-501 supersedes any conflicting definition contained elsewhere in this Chapter unless expressly specified in this Article X: 

“Committee” means the Transportation Permit and Review Committee as defined in Chapter 126 Article 1, Sec. 126-3 of the General Laws of the City of Jackson.

“Department,” means the Police Department of the City of Jackson. 

“Prearranged Ride,” a period of time that begins when a transportation network driver accepts a requested ride through a digital network, continues while said driver transports the transportation network company rider, and ends when said rider departs from the vehicle. 

“Transportation Network Company,” a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship or other entity, operating in the City of Jackson that uses a digital network to connect riders to drivers for the purposes of pre-arranging and providing transportation.

“Transportation Network Company Permit” or “Permit,” a document that may be issued by the Committee to a qualifying transportation network company under section 126-504 of this chapter, effective for a period of two years.  A Transportation Network Company shall not be deemed to control, direct or manage the Vehicles or Transportation Network Drivers that connect to its digital network, except where agreed to by written contract. 

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“Transportation Network Driver,” a driver certified by a transportation network company pursuant to section 126-505. 

“Transportation Network Driver Certificate,” a certificate issued by a transportation network company pursuant to section 126-505, effective for a period of one year, and which may be provided in an electronic form.   

“Transportation Network Rider” or “Rider,” a passenger in a pre-arranged ride provided by a transportation network driver, provided that the passenger personally arranged the ride or an arrangement was made on his or her behalf. 

“Transportation Network Services” or “Services,” the offering or providing of pre-arranged rides for compensation or on a promotional basis to riders or prospective riders through the transportation network company’s digital network, covering the period beginning when a transportation network driver is logged onto the transportation network company’s digital network and is available to receive a prearranged ride or while in the course of providing a prearranged ride. 

“Vehicle,” a vehicle that is used by a transportation network driver to provide transportation network services. 

Section 126-502.  Administration.

The Committee shall have general supervision of all transportation network companies and the manner in which transportation network services are provided with reference to the safety and convenience of the public, as expressly set forth in sections 126-501 through 126-512 of this chapter.  Transportation network companies are not subject to the department or committee’s rate, certificate of necessity, or common carrier requirements, other than those expressly set forth in sections 126-501 through 126-512 of this Chapter, nor are transportation network companies subject to any other provision of this chapter, other than those expressly set forth in sections 126-501 through 126-512. 

Section 126-503.  City Permit Required.

(a) No transportation network company shall operate in the City of Jackson without a permit issued to it by the Committee.  Unless the Committee can show good cause for delay, such as the failure to submit information required in this Article or failure to comply with this article, the Committee shall issue permits to transportation network companies who apply within 30 days of the applicant submitting a completed application.

(b) No transportation network driver shall provide transportation network services unless, said driver: (i) is affiliated with a transportation network company that holds a permit issued to it by the committee; (ii) has been determined to be

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suitable to provide transportation network services by the committee; (iii) holds a current and valid transportation network driver certificate issued to him by a transportation network company identifying him as a transportation network driver; (iv) uses a vehicle that is listed on his transportation network driver certificate and bears the recognizable external marker required by subsection (f) of section 126-505; and (v) carries the proof of insurance required by section 126-506. 

Section 126-504.  Application.

(a) A transportation network company shall apply for a permit to be issued by the committee. The applicant must pay a $5000 registration fee. The registration must include:

1. the transportation network company's name, business address, and phone number;

2. if the transportation network company is registered in another state, the name, address, and phone number of the transportation network company's agent for service of process (said agent must be in the City of Jackson);

3. the name, address, email address and phone number of the transportation network company's main contact person for communications with the committee;

4. a certification that the applicant has a company policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of destination, age, race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, intellectual disability, or physical disability with respect to all passengers and potential passengers.

(b) Each applicant for a transportation network company permit must meet the following requirements: 

(1) Adequate insurance as set forth in section 126-506 of this chapter. 

(2) Agree to driver background and drug checks. 

(i) The transportation network company shall not allow the provision of transportation network services by any driver who has not been determined to be suitable to provide transportation network services through the process set forth in section 126-505 of this chapter. 

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(ii) The transportation network company shall submit a verification setting forth, in detail, its background check process under clause (2)(i) of subsection (b) of section 126-505 of this chapter. 

(iii) The transportation network company shall submit a verification setting forth, in detail, its drug testing policy. Such policy shall be at least as stringent as any drug testing policy that the City of Jackson requires for any taxi service that operates in the City under Chapter 126.

(3) Vehicle safety.  Each vehicle used to provide transportation network services shall be inspected initially (when its driver or the company applies to first use the vehicle to provide transportation network services) and thereafter yearly through a process set forth in section 126-505(b)(10)of this chapter. 

(4) Transparent pricing.  The digital network used by the transportation network company to pre-arrange rides must have a straightforward explanation of the total cost or pricing structure applicable to each pre-arranged ride before such ride begins.  The company agrees to disclose this pricing structure to each passenger via its website, app, and/or digital network before the passenger incurs any fees.

Section 126-505.  Driver Requirements.

(a) A driver who seeks to be affiliated with a transportation network company shall apply to a transportation network company for a transportation network driver certificate. 

(b) The following requirements must be met before a transportation network company may issue a transportation network driver certificate to an applicant for said certificate: 

(1) The driver shall be at least 21 years of age. 

(2) The driver shall possess a regular or commercial driver's license, which must have been held in Mississippi or in another state for a minimum period of one year prior to application.

(3) The driver shall be a citizen of the United States or an alien admitted for permanent residence who has otherwise been granted employment authorization by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.

(4) The driver shall submit to fingerprint analysis by the city's police department.

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(5) The driver shall not have been convicted in the previous seven years of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, fraud, sexual offenses, theft, acts of violence or terror, using a vehicle to commit a felony, or a crime involving property damage in the city, the State of Mississippi, any other state or by the United States. The driver shall not appear on a state or federal sex offender registry regardless of when the conviction occurred. If at any time during the application process the applicant is charged with any criminal offense, consideration of the application shall be suspended until entry of a judgement or dismissal. A plea of nolo contendere to a criminal offense shall constitute a conviction.

(6) The driver shall not have been convicted of three or more moving violations within a period of two years prior to the date of application (regardless of where such violations occurred) .

(7) The driver shall be examined by a physician licensed to practice in the State of Mississippi and provide written certification from such physician stating that the applicant is not disabled by reason of defects of sight, hearing, body, limbs or evidence of narcotic or alcoholic usage from safely operating a motor vehicle in and upon the streets of the city. The driver must provide written certification from a physician licensed to practice in the state or from a medical provider who regularly provides drug screens that the driver has passed a drug test dated with 5 calendar days of the submission of the driver’s application that screens for, at minimum, marijuana, cocaine, phencyclidine, amphetamines, and opiates. Said drug test must meet or exceed the requirements of the Federal Department of Transportation 5-Panel drug screening test. The city, upon stating good cause in writing, may demand to have an applicant examined (at the city’s expense) by a physician appointed by the city before the transportation network company may issue a transportation network driver certificate.

(8) The driver shall provide information regarding prior experience in the transportation of passengers. The lack of prior experience in the transportation of passengers shall not disqualify a driver from receiving a certificate. The committee and company may decline to allow the issuance of a certificate to a driver if the driver is shown to have previously injured, endangered, harmed, or harassed passengers in his prior experiences in the transportation of passengers.

(9) The driver shall be determined to be suitable to perform transportation network services on the basis of the following, two-part background check process: 

(i) The transportation network company shall conduct a background check of each applicant that includes a review of the local and national criminal records, sex offender records, and driving records associated with each applicant.  The transportation network company shall disqualify applicants

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if the driver has been convicted in the previous seven years of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, fraud, sexual offenses, theft, acts of violence or terror, using a vehicle to commit a felony, or a crime involving property damage in the city, in the State of Mississippi, any other state or by he United States. The transportation network company shall disqualify applicants if they are on a state or federal sex offender registry regardless of when the conviction occurred. If at any time during the application process the applicant is charged with any criminal offense, consideration of the application shall be suspended until entry of a judgement or dismissal. A plea of nolo contendere to a criminal offense shall constitute a conviction.

(ii)  The transportation network company shall submit identifying information regarding an applicant to the committee, which shall refer said information to the police department which will obtain all available criminal offender record information, driving records, and sex offender registry information about the applicant.  The applicant shall submit to fingerprint analysis by the city's police department. The department or its designee shall compare the applicant’s fingerprints against any database that the department may reasonably use for purposes of completing background checks such as the database maintained by the Mississippi Crime Information Center. Following a review of the pertinent records, the department or its designee shall determine whether the applicant has committed an offense that would disqualify him from the provision of transportation network services as set forth in this Article.  In light of that determination, and following the department’s review of all motor vehicle records pertaining to the applicant, the department shall determine within 10 business days of receiving an applicant’s finger prints and identifying information whether the applicant is suitable to provide transportation network services and shall so notify the transportation network company and the committee. 

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 126-503(b)(ii) of this act, if the department and committee have not notified the transportation network company of the suitability determination within 10 business days after receiving an applicant’s identifying information and the applicant appearing for fingerprints and submitting all other documentation and information required herein, a transportation network company may provisionally allow an applicant to provide transportation network services, provided that the transportation network company has determined that the applicant meets the suitability standards set forth in this Article and that all of the other requirements of Section 126-503(b) are satisfied.  If the department or committee subsequently notifies the transportation network company that the applicant does not meet the

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suitability standard, the transportation network company shall immediately prohibit the driver from providing transportation network services. 

(10) The transportation network company shall verify that the vehicle or, where appropriate, each of the vehicles, to be used by the driver to provide transportation network services is currently registered in the State of Mississippi. The transportation network company shall make sure that all vehicles pass a mechanical inspection at a professional repair shop. On an annual basis, at minimum, the transportation network company shall recertify the fitness of each vehicle used by each driver by requiring a comparable mechanical inspection. The committee may, in its sole discretion, permit a transportation network vehicle to be registered and inspected in another state with substantially equivalent safety protections. 

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(c) The certification requirements set forth in subsection (b) shall apply to each renewal of a transportation network company permit. 

(d) A transportation network company shall provide to the department and to the committee a roster of each driver certified by it to be a transportation network driver, and shall update said roster regularly.  The committee shall make this roster available to the registry of motor vehicles and state and local law enforcement. 

(e) The committee shall approve the form of a transportation network driver certificate; provided, however, that each such certificate shall contain the name, address, and picture of the driver, and the license plate number of each vehicle used by him to provide transportation network services. 

(f) A recognizable external marker shall be displayed on a vehicle at all times it is used to provide transportation network services. 

Section 126-506.  Insurance.

(a) The insurance requirements set forth in this subsection shall constitute adequate insurance with respect to the provision of transportation network services in a vehicle operated by a transportation network driver. Said driver still must maintain insurance coverage commensurate with Mississippi State Law, including, but not limited to Mississippi Code Section 63-15-3(j), for the vehicle during those periods of time when the vehicle is being operated but is not providing transportation network services. 

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(1) The following automobile insurance requirements shall apply while a driver affiliated with a transportation network company is logged onto the transportation network company’s digital network and is available to receive transportation requests, but is not engaged in a prearranged ride: 

(i) Automobile liability insurance that meets the greater of either 1.) the minimum coverage requirements established in Mississippi Code Section 63-15-3(j) or any subsequent revisions thereto or 2.) in the minimum amount of $75,000.00 for injury or death of any one person and subject to that limit for each person. One hundred fifty thousand dollars for each accident. Seventy-five thousand dollars for damage to property. Uninsured motorist coverage for an accident in the minimum amount of $25,000.00 for injury or death of any one person and subject to that limit for each person. Fifty thousand dollars for each accident. Ten thousand dollars for damage to property.

(ii) The insurance may be held by the transportation network driver, the transportation network company, or some combination thereof. Regardless of who holds the insurance, primary coverage must meet this minimum amount and shall indemnify and save harmless the city, its officers or agents from all judgments, causes of action, costs and expenses of defending any suit, or cause of action, that might be brought, arising from or growing out of the operation of the vehicle for transportation network services and a primary policy of insurance shall name the city as an additional insured and shall provide that the license and permit division of the police department be given at least 30 days prior written notice by the insurer of any cancellation or amendment of the policy.

(2) The following automobile liability insurance requirements shall apply while a transportation network driver is engaged in a prearranged ride: 

(i) Automobile liability insurance that provides at least $1,000,000 in per occurrence coverage for death, bodily injury, and property damage, uninsured motorist coverage, and personal injury protection;

(ii) The insurance may be held by the transportation network driver, the transportation network company, or some combination thereof. Regardless of who holds the insurance, primary coverage must meet this minimum amount and shall indemnify and save harmless the city, its officers or agents from all judgments, causes of action, costs and expenses of defending any suit, or cause of action, that might be brought, arising from or growing out of the operation of the vehicle for transportation network services and a primary policy of insurance shall name the city as an additional insured and shall provide that the license and permit division of

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the police department be given at least 30 days prior written notice by the insurer of any cancellation or amendment of the policy.

(b) In every instance where insurance maintained by a transportation network driver to fulfill the insurance requirements set forth in subsection (a) has lapsed, failed to provide the required coverage, denied a claim for the required coverage, or otherwise ceased to exist, insurance maintained by a transportation network company shall provide the coverage required by subsection (a) beginning with the first dollar of a claim and shall have the duty to investigate and defend such claim. 

(c) Coverage under an automobile insurance policy maintained by the transportation network company shall not be dependent on a personal automobile insurer first denying a claim nor shall a personal automobile insurer be required to first deny a claim. 

(d) Insurance required by this section 126-506 must be placed with an insurer authorized to do business in the state or, if such coverage is not available, then with a surplus lines insurer.

(e) A transportation network company driver shall carry proof of coverage satisfying subsection (a) with him at all times he is providing transportation network company services.  In the event of an incident giving rise to personal injury or property damage, a transportation network driver shall provide this insurance coverage information to the directly interested parties, automobile insurers, and investigating police officers.  Upon request, a transportation network driver shall also disclose to directly interested parties, automobile drivers, automobile insurers, and investigating police officers, whether he was providing transportation network services, including whether such services included a prearranged ride, at the time of the incident. 

(f) A transportation network company shall disclose in writing to transportation network drivers the following relative to insurance before they are allowed to accept a request for a prearranged ride:

(i) The insurance coverage, including the types of coverage and the limits for each coverage, that the transportation network company provides while the transportation network driver uses his vehicle to provide transportation network services; and

(ii) That the transportation network driver’s own automobile insurance policy might not provide coverage while the driver is providing transportation network services, depending on its terms. 

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(g) In a claims coverage investigation, a transportation network company, a transportation network driver, and any insurer responding to a claim involving transportation network services shall cooperate to facilitate the exchange of relevant information with directly involved parties, including, but not limited to, the precise times that a transportation network company driver logged on and off of the transportation network company’s digital network in the twelve hour period immediately preceding and in the twelve hour period immediately following the accident and disclose to one another a clear description of the coverage, exclusions and limits provided under any automobile insurance maintained under section 126-506.

Section 126-507.  Right to Revoke Permit With Hearing and Notice.

The committee may, following notice and a hearing, suspend or revoke a transportation network company permit or an individual driver’s certificate to provide transportation network services for due cause.  The term “due cause” for the revocation or suspension of a transportation network company or driver permit shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

a. The failure of the transportation network company permit holder and/or driver to maintain any and all general qualifications applicable to the issuance of a certificate or permit;

b. Providing false information to the committee or police department or obtaining a transportation network company permit or driver permit by providing false information;

c. Conviction, pleading guilty or nolo contendere of any criminal offense of the city, the State of Mississippi, any other state, or of the United States;

d. Refusing to accept via its network/website/software a genuine passenger who meets the requirements for service set by the transportation network company unless the passenger is obviously intoxicated or deemed to be dangerous.

e. If the holder of the transportation network company permit has knowledge of any criminal offense or should have had such knowledge of the violation of a driver who is affiliated with the permit holder;

f. Whenever it shall appear that a driver has disorders characterized by lapses of consciousness or other mental or physical disabilities affecting his or her ability to drive safely.

Section 126-508.  Immediate Suspension of Drivers.

(a) The committee or the chief of police (personally or by his designee) may order a transportation network company to immediately revoke the permit of a

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transportation network driver, and to report to the committee and to the police department within 24 hours upon having done so, upon receipt of information indicating that the driver is not suitable to provide transportation network services and poses a danger to the public. If the committee or the police department exercise their right to suspend a driver under this paragraph, the driver and/or company may request, in writing, via certified mail addressed to the committee that the committee hold a hearing reviewing whether there is due cause to suspend the driver. The request for a hearing must be mailed within 5 business days of the suspension and the committee shall hear the appeal with 10 business days of receiving the written request for a hearing or later if all involved parties agree.

(b) The committee or department may order a transportation network company to suspend a transportation network driver certificate, and to report to the committee and department immediately upon having done so, upon the driver’s arrest for a crime that would render him unsuitable to provide transportation network services or upon his citation for a driving infraction that would render him unsuitable to provide transportation network services for such period of time as necessary to determine whether continued provision of transportation network services by said driver is consistent with the public interest. 

Section 126-509.  Penalties.

(a) Whenever the committee determines that any transportation network company is in violation of any provision of sections 126-501 through 126-512 of this chapter or any regulation or rule promulgated thereunder, the committee shall issue a monetary penalty up to $500 for a first offense and between $1,000 and $2,000 for each subsequent offense in any calendar year. The committee may also suspend or revoke a permit, or take such other action that the committee deems equitable if a transportation network company has multiple violations of this article.  In determining the amount of the penalty, the committee shall consider the size of the transportation network company, the gravity of the violation, the good faith, if any, of the transportation network company in attempting to achieve compliance and remedying non-compliance, and any previous violations. 

(b) Any driver providing transportation network services who is not in compliance with clause (b) of section 126-503 has committed a civil motor vehicle infraction under the Jackson Municipal Code and may be issued a ticket by the committee or the department and, if so cited, shall be subject to a fine of 350 dollars for the first offense and $500 for each subsequent offense. 

(c) ) Any driver who is certified under this article and who provides for-hire transportation services without going through a digital network or app for a transportation network company he is certified with (e.g., accepting a street hail) has committed a civil motor vehicle infraction under the Jackson Municipal Code

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and may be issued a ticket by the committee or the department and, if so cited, shall be subject to a fine of 350 dollars and $500 for each subsequent offense. 

Section 126-510.  Annual Fees.

(a). In addition to the application fee, each transportation network company shall pay an annual fee of $2500.

(b) The payment to the City of Jackson of the annual fee described in Section 126-510(a) is not a tax. The payment to the City of Jackson of the annual fee described in Section 126-510(a) does not relieve the obligation of the transportation network company or its drivers to pay any taxes or fees for providing vehicle-for-hire services imposed by the State, including, but not limited to, any taxes or fees related to Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau or the Jackson Convention Complex.

Section 126-511.  Miscellaneous.

(a) The committee may establish forms and procedures appropriate to effectuate sections 126-501 through 126-512 of this chapter. In so doing, it shall consider comments provided to it by transportation network companies.

(b) The committee shall monitor and examine the provision of service by transportation network companies to all citizens of Jackson, regardless of race, class, location in the city, or special needs and shall report to the City Council and Mayor on an annual basis about whether further regulation of transportation network companies is necessary to address the fair provision of service to all citizens of Jackson.

(c) Records shall be maintained by transportation network companies, including, but not limited to, records pertaining to service, accessibility, and pricing in the City of Jackson. Transportation network companies shall retain individual trip records for at least a year and driver records for at least one year after the driver's activation on the digital network or app ends. Each transportation network company or any applicant for a transportation network company permit shall furnish all information and documents related to the condition, management, and operation of the company upon the City’s request; provided, however, that any such request must be reasonably related to the requirements set forth in sections 126-501 through 126-511 of this chapter. 

(d) Any record furnished to the department may exclude information that would tend to identify specific passengers, unless such information is pertinent to the enforcement processes.

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(e) Any driver who has a valid and current certification under this article as a transportation network company driver and who is displaying on his or her vehicle the external markings required in Section 126-505(f) shall be authorized to pick-up and drop-off passengers using the transportation network company system at any Jackson Municipal Airport. While at the airport, however, the driver shall not be allowed to access any parking or waiting zones that are not available for a private car or personal vehicle and the driver shall not be allowed to pick up fares or be hailed by people who are not using the transportation network company app or website unless authorized by the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority.

Section 126-512. Public Records. 

(a) Any record furnished to the committee or the police department by a transportation network company pursuant to sections 126-501 through 126-512 of this chapter, including but not limited to the roster of permitted transportation network drivers required by subsection (d) of section 126-505 shall be considered a public record as that term is used in Mississippi Code Section 25-61-1 et seq. except in so far as said document or information may be withheld from disclosure, in whole or in part, for reasons set forth in Mississippi Code Section 25-61-1 et seq. 

SECTION 3 Chapter 126-3 of the General Laws of the City of Jackson, Mississippi is hereby amended by adding the follow language to the end of the definition of “Transportation permit and review committee (committee)”:

The first calendar year after at least one transportation network company has operated in the City of Jackson during the previous calendar year pursuant to Section 126-501 through Section 126-512 of the General Laws of the City of Jackson, the committee shall be dissolved on January 31 and a new Transportation Permit and Review Committee will be empanelled that day. This new committee and the Transportation Permit and Review Committee thereafter will be comprised of two representatives from the department of Planning and Development who will serve at the discretion of the mayor, with one serving as chairperson, one representative appointed by the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority for a term not to exceed two years; one representative appointed by the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau for a term not to exceed two years; two representatives from the police department who will serve at the discretion of the chief of police; and one at-large member who represents the interests of the consumer. The at-large member will be nominated by the Mayor and approved by the City Council and will serve a two year term. The representatives of the Department of Planning and Development, the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Police Department, and Consumers shall be the voting members of the committee. One representative from the taxicab companies operating in the City of Jackson; one representative from limousine companies operating

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in the City of Jackson; one representative from the transportation network companies operating in the City or Jackson, and one representative from the City of Jackson legal department shall serve on the committee in an advisory capacity.

SECTION 4.  Effective Date.

Except as otherwise provided, this Article shall take effect 30 days from its enactment. 

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