At the Texas Capitol, the next legislative session will bring a renewed battle over ridesharing.
After Austin voters rebuked a more than $8.5 million dollar campaign by Uber and Lyft over city regulations, state Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) vowed to file a bill creating a statewide set of rules -- something 30 other states have already done.
"I think the State of Texas needs to take steps to make sure there is a fair and consistent regulatory framework for these new technologies," Schwertner told KVUE Monday.
"I would argue that this is more than just a local issue. This is a regional issue or really a statewide issue. You know drunk drivers don't stop at the Austin city limit signs, and the individuals that are affected by this live outside of Austin as well," said Schwertner. "Twenty thousand people lost their jobs today -- got pink slips today -- 5,000 of which were in my district."
"I really think that there were legitimate reasons to be for or against Prop 1, and I think we lost out on some of that debate," said state Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin).
Expressing disappointment in the campaign's scorched-earth politics, the former Austin mayor suggested lawmakers heed the message voters sent Saturday.
"We need to have a real policy discussion about how best to address these issues, and what we cannot afford is somebody that's just upset because of an election to come in and say at the legislative level we're going to do something simplistic, winner-take-all, something like that," Watson told KVUE. "If somebody wants to talk about it, let's talk about it in a mature, appropriate way to get good public policy."
Last session, a debate over Denton's fracking ban prompted lawmakers to pass a state law overriding local oil and gas rules. A ridesharing bill that would have allowed local fingerprint requirements cleared the House Committee on Transportation, but never made it to the floor for a vote.
"I think this is a bipartisan issue," said Schwertner, "And one that I think the State of Texas and members of the legislature look forward to addressing and making sure that we have the right policies that protect our citizens as well as the right environment to make it a competitive free market environment that Texas is so proud of."