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RESOLUTION URGING THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE TO REPEAL THE PREEMPTION CURRENTLY IN STATE LAW THAT PROHIBITS LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FROM REGULATING TAXICAB LEASE RATES

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WHEREAS, there are more than 2,000 taxicab licenses that have been issued in Miami Dade County; and
WHEREAS, an individual must obtain such a license before being allowed to operate a taxicab; and
WHEREAS, such a license can either be purchased or leased from an owner of a taxicab license; and
WHEREAS, purchasing a license is often cost prohibitive for the vast majority of taxicab drivers, and as such, more than 75 percent of all taxicab licenses are leased by drivers from license owners; and
WHEREAS, leasing a taxicab license can be costly, requiring payment of as much as $770 per week; and
WHEREAS, for many years, taxicab drivers who do not own their own taxicab licenses have expressed significant concerns about the large amounts they have to pay to lease a taxicab license; and
WHEREAS, such drivers claim that taxicab lease rates are so high that they create an impediment to their daily sustenance; and
WHEREAS, while Florida law currently authorizes local governments to regulate the rates that taxicab drivers can charge passengers, Florida law currently preempts local governments from regulating the lease rates taxicab license holders can charge taxicab drivers; and
WHEREAS, allowing local governments to regulate taxicab license lease rates that drivers pay to license owners would allow local governments to establish lease rates that are reasonable, predictable and consistent; and
WHEREAS, the establishment of reasonable, predictable and consistent taxicab lease rates would not only ensure that taxicab drivers make a fair wage, but also improve the quality of taxicab service generally in Miami-Dade County; and
WHEREAS, repeal of the preemption currently in state law that prohibits local governments from regulating taxicab lease rates is needed to allow the establishment of such reasonable, predictable and consistent taxicab lease rates,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges the Florida Legislature to repeal the preemption currently in state law that prohibits local governments from regulating taxicab lease rates.
Section 2. Directs the Clerk of this Board to send a certified copy of this resolution to the Governor, Senate President, House Speaker, the Chair and Members of the Miami-Dade State Legislative Delegation, the President of the Florida Association of Counties/Leon County Commissioner Bryan Desloge, and the Executive Director of the Florida Association of Counties.
Section 3. Directs the County's state lobbyists to advocate for the passage of legislation and funding as set forth in section 1 above, and authorizes and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to include this item in the 2014 State Legislative Package when it is presented to the Board.