Ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft would be subject to stricter legal requirements under a bill that passed an Assembly committee Thursday.
The Assembly Transportation Committee approved a bill imposing more than a dozen new requirements on the companies.
Among those are the requirement that background checks and safety inspections be approved by the state Motor Vehicle Commission and that drivers be at least 21 years old.
Other provisions call for a 10-cent fee each time one of the companies receives a payment from a passenger through a digital application. The money will go toward a fund to pay for the bill's administrative costs.
Uber spokesman Matt Wing deplored the legislation, saying it would "drive Uber out of New Jersey."
Democratic Assemblyman Troy Singleton, who co-sponsored the measure, said it would impose "a sense of accountability so that both passengers and drivers stay safe on the roads."
Cab drivers, who have been supportive of the regulations, clashed briefly with Uber supporters outside the Statehouse before New Jersey State Police separated the two sides.
