ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION No. 274

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

218th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED NOVEMBER 14, 2019

 

 

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  DANIEL R. BENSON

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Urges President and Congress to enact "Sami's Law," regulating ride-share companies.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  

An Assembly Resolution urging the President and United States Congress to enact "Sami's Law" concerning ride-share safety.

 

Whereas, On March 29, 2019, Samantha (Sami) Josephson, a resident of Robbinsville, New Jersey and a student at the University of South Carolina, was tragically murdered after entering a vehicle she mistakenly thought was standing by to provide a ride she requested through a ride-share company's digital network; and

Whereas, Smartphone-friendly ride-share companies employ drivers who use the company's digital network and the driver's private vehicle to provide transportation choices that are alternatives to traditional taxi services; and

Whereas, Ride-share services have grown in popularity in recent years and according to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey, 36 percent of adults in the United States have used a ride-share service, a 21 percent increase from 2015; and

Whereas, Unlike a yellow taxi, ride-share vehicles have no identifiable markers, making it easy for individuals to fraudulently impersonate ride-share drivers and place the safety of the passengers at risk; and

Whereas, There is currently legislation pending in the United States Congress, S.1871/H.R.3262, known as "Sami's Law" that would require the ride-share vehicle to display an illuminated sign with the proprietary logo of the ride-share company and a machine-readable code or image that can be scanned by the passenger to confirm the identity of the driver prior to the beginning of a trip; and

Whereas, New Jersey has adopted many of these requirements through the enactment of P.L.2019, c.128 by requiring ride-share companies to make ride-share vehicles easily identifiable for passengers; and

Whereas, Samantha Josephson's brutal murder underscores the need for protection and safety for ride-share passengers in all 50 states; and

Whereas, Every day thousands of ride-share passengers entrust drivers affiliated with ride-share companies to safely get them to their destinations, and it is fitting and proper for this House to urge the United States Congress to pass "Sami's Law" to enhance protections for ride-share passengers; now, therefore,

 

     Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    This House urges the President and the United States Congress to enact "Sami's Law" in order to enhance protections for ride-share passengers.

 

     2.    Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leaders of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of the United States Congress elected from this State.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This resolution urges the President and the United States Congress to enact "Sami's Law" in order to enhance protections for ride-share passengers.

     On March 29, 2019, Samantha (Sami) Josephson, a resident of Robbinsville, New Jersey and a student at the University of South Carolina, was tragically murdered after entering a vehicle she mistakenly thought was standing by to provide a ride she requested through a ride-share company's digital network.

     Ride-share services have grown in popularity in recent years and according to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey, 36 percent of adults in the United States have used a ride-share service, a 21 percent increase from 2015. Unlike a yellow taxi, ride-share vehicles have no identifiable markers, making it easy for individuals to fraudulently impersonate ride-share drivers and place the safety of the passengers at risk.

     There is currently legislation pending in the United States Congress, S.1871/H.R.3262, known as "Sami's Law" that would require the ride-share vehicle to display an illuminated sign with the proprietary logo of the ride-share company and a machine-readable code or image that can be scanned by the passenger to confirm the identity of the driver prior to the beginning of a trip.

     Samantha Josephson's brutal murder underscores the need for protection and safety for ride-share passengers and the passage of "Sami's Law" by the United States Congress can enhance protections for ride-share passengers in all 50 states.