Gov. Jared Polis vetoed legislation Friday that would’ve instituted a slew of new security and reporting requirements on ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft. Though the governor also directed state regulators to take steps to improve rider safety, the bill’s sponsors blasted his rejection of the legislation as a decision to side with tech companies.
In a letter describing his veto of House Bill 1291, the governor acknowledged the need for tighter regulations on ride-share companies. But he was swayed to reject the bill in part because of Uber’s threat to leave the state if the bill were signed into law. He wrote that while he believed ride-share companies could “do more to protect riders and drivers,” HB-1291 “goes beyond a narrowly tailored public safety focus” to include “concerning provisions,” such as allowing for trips to be recorded upon request and prohibiting arbitration clauses in rider agreements.
“Together, these changes would jeopardize these services in Colorado to an untenable degree, and could very well lead to companies that Coloradans rely on exiting the market, raising prices, or reducing the number of drivers,” Polis wrote.
HB-1291 passed the legislature earlier this month, on the final day of the 2025 session. It was sponsored by Rep. Jenny Willford, a Northglenn Democrat who was sexually assaulted in the back of a Lyft last year, and it was supported by lawmakers of both parties.
In a blistering statement Friday afternoon, Willford and the bill’s other Democratic sponsors accused Polis of using “industry talking points” in his veto letter, and they said more negotiations could’ve taken place had the governor’s office brought concerns forward sooner than the final days of session.
“The Governor says he cares about survivors — but actions speak louder than words,” Willford, Rep. Meg Froelich and Sens. Jessie Danielson and Faith Winter wrote. “When he had the opportunity to act, he chose to side with convenience and profits of billion-dollar corporations instead of the survivors who shared their horrific experiences over and over again.”
One day after the bill passed, Polis refused to say whether he would sign or veto it. Still, his rejection was expected, prompting a letter urging his signature from more than two dozen lawmakers and other supporters. Another supportive letter was sent from 10 women who were sexually assaulted by the same ride-share driver between 2018 and 2022.
“We are not seeking revenge, nor are we trying to dismantle a multi-billion-dollar industry,” the women wrote. “What we want is simple: to ensure that what happened to us doesn’t happen to someone else.”
The legislation — which would’ve required Uber and Lyft to adopt a number of policy changes to improve passenger safety — was opposed by the ride-share companies, who argued the bill’s requirements were unworkable. In addition to threatening to leave, Uber sought to enlist both drivers and riders to lobby lawmakers to vote against the measure.
Lyft sent Polis a letter several days after the bill passed urging him to veto it, as did other organizations concerned about increased levels of drunken driving should ride-share companies leave.
Uber, in a statement Friday, thanked Polis for nixing the bill. The company said it remains committed to safety, pledging to continue working with bill sponsors on “sensible policies that keep people safe while protecting privacy and access.”
Lyft said the governor made the “tough but correct call.”
“While its goals were noble, the practical challenges and negative impacts it would create for drivers and riders far outweighed its perceived benefits,” the company said in a statement Friday.
The measure would’ve required ride-share companies to conduct background checks on their drivers every six months and to allow drivers or riders to request that every trip be recorded. People convicted of certain crimes would’ve been prohibited from working as drivers, and ride-share companies would’ve been directed to deactivate drivers who the companies had determined had likely committed crimes.
The bill also required the companies to report sexual assaults and other misconduct to the legislature on a regular basis. Drivers would’ve been prohibited from sharing accounts, from giving rides to unaccompanied minors without their guardian’s approval, and from offering food or drink to passengers.
Some of those provisions were directly inspired by Willford’s assault: Her driver was a different man than the one on the profile with which she was matched, for instance. She has also said the person who was supposed to be her driver had previously been convicted of a crime that should’ve been caught by Lyft.
During debate, Willford argued that what happened to her was part of a broader pattern with Lyft and Uber. Uber reported that it had received more than 9,000 complaints of sexual assault between 2017 and 2020, according to CNN. Lyft said it received more than 4,100 reports between 2017 and 2019.
In his veto letter, Polis acknowledged that “the status quo isn’t sufficient” and that increased vetting of drivers represented a commonsense step forward. He directed the Department of Regulatory Agencies to work with Willford and the bill’s other sponsors “and other interested parties to identify shared policy objectives that can be achieved through immediate executive action and through targeted legislative policy during the 2026 legislative session.”
He also directed the agency to work with state utility regulators, who oversee ride-share companies, to review their current regulations and “strengthen them where authority currently exists.”
In their statement, the bill’s sponsors castigated Polis’ call for reforms as “an empty promise of future regulatory review.”
“Coloradans deserve safety now,” they wrote.
The veto is Polis’ sixth of the year. It’s also his second rejection of a bill that sought to better regulate tech companies: In April, the governor vetoed another bipartisan bill to require tighter scrutiny of user conduct from social media companies. The state Senate then swiftly voted to override Polis’ veto, but House lawmakers dropped their plans to do the same in that chamber after support collapsed.
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Originally Published: May 23, 2025 at 3:30 PM MDT
