Level the field for ride shares

As a legislative leader, one of my most important responsibilities is to ensure a climate exists for Iowa to have a vibrant and expanding economy. Achieving this will not only provide jobs and opportunity to Iowans, it will keep our young people from leaving and draw talented people from across the nation to our state.

In the 21st century this means embracing technology and Internet-based businesses. There is no better representative of this new era than Uber.

Uber is an American company that operates a transportation service, similar to taxi cabs, that is powered largely by a smartphone app. The service allows a consumer to submit a trip request online, receive a ride from an Uber driver, and be billed digitally. While the company operates in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, they have struggled to expand in Iowa due to differing rules and regulations in various cities - recently culminating with a decision to scrap plans to begin operation in Iowa City.

There are complicated issues at play, ranging from how the cars must be identified to how the drivers are insured. From a legislative standpoint, many of the problems arise from the fact our regulations are written for taxi cab and limo related services, to which Uber is similar but certainly not the same. On March 24, by a 95-5 margin, the Iowa House passed a bill that resolves these issues by creating a consistent, statewide set of rules. The bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration and I hope we pass it.

The job of government is to create a level playing field for established industries and innovative start-ups to compete on. Fairness in this arena is achieved by ensuring rules and regulations do not advantage or disadvantage either party. While excessive and unnecessary levels of regulation hurt all businesses, small companies and start-ups in particular are disproportionally affected - they simply do not have the same budgets and administrative abilities to cope.

Though a large portion of our economy will always center around the traditional practice of farming, we also have the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of the Internet-driven 21st century economy. I envision this unique mix as the key to prosperity for both rural and urban Iowans of all generations.

To make sure this becomes reality we must be welcoming and encouraging not only to companies like Uber that already exist, but also to the young people who will eventually create the next big innovation. We have a chance to do both by passing this bill and others like it.

Creating excessive barriers to market entry through overregulation prevents and diminishes competition - which is the driving force that provides Iowa consumers with more choices and lower prices. As we weigh how to deal with services like Uber, it must be understood that this debate is not necessarily about Uber, but symbolic of many future issues we will face in transitioning to the 'new economy” of the 21st century. By embracing intense competition on a level playing field, not only will the best companies, goods, and services win - so will every Iowan.

' Jack Whitver represents District 19 in the Iowa Senate and serves as the Republican Whip. He is a small-business owner and lives with his wife and three children in Ankeny. Comments: Jack@jackwhitver.com