Austin's city council has said that any ride-sharing or taxi firms that fail to comply with a new fingerprint background checks will face a fine.Austin City Council convened in June to establish the penalties companies will incur if they don't meet the established thresholds. The item passed by a vote of 8-2-0-1, with council members Ellen Troxclair and Don Zimmerman voting against the ordinance and council member Greg Casar not present at the time of the vote, reported The Daily Texan.Mayor Steve Adler said he voted against the amendment on the first reading because he believes market incentives are the best way to promote fingerprint background checks.”I think that most of us share the same goal here and I think it's to reach biometrically-linked background checked drivers,” Adler said. “We disagree on the best path to get there.”Council member Ann Kitchen outlined the potential consequences.”They will not be eligible for 'Safety Assurance,' which means they have to pay an additional 1 percent,” Kitchen said. This additional 1 percent would be subtracted directly from the company's annual revenue and would be enforced on top of the current 1 percent they already pay to the city. They would also be barred access to typically lucrative events, such as ACL. Failure to turn in monthly reports detailing the number of drivers who have passed fingerprint background checks will incur a daily fee of $500. Ultimately, if ridesharing companies do not meet the 99 percent threshold by 2017, they will lose their operation license.The City Council also approved an amendment to the ordinance that allows for some flexibility regarding the percentage deadlines.Jason Stanford, communications director for Mayor Adler, said companies will have a three-month grace period following the deadline in 2017.
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