Private Vehicle-for-Hire Operator Clarification Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2025

1

_____________________________
Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau

A PROPOSED RESOLUTION

______________

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

__________________

To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Department of 1
For-Hire Vehicles Establishment Act of 1985 to clarify the definition of a private vehicle-2
for-hire operator.. 3
4
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 5
resolution may be cited as the “Private Vehicle-for-Hire Operator Clarification Emergency 6
Declaration Resolution of 2025”. 7
Sec. 2. (a) The District’s for-hire vehicle laws are designed to authorize only properly 8
licensed, insured, and identifiable vehicles and operators to transport passengers for 9
compensation. Specifically, private vehicle-for-hire operators are required to be registered with a 10
private vehicle-for-hire company that is registered to operate in the District and must provide 11
service only through the registered digital dispatch of such a company. These legal requirements 12
are carefully tailored to safeguard public safety, accountability, and passenger trust. 13
(b) For several years, the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (DFHV) and the Metropolitan 14
Police Department (MPD) have identified an increase in illegal vehicle-for-hire services wherein 15
certain operators are not registered with a private vehicle-for-hire company that is legally 16
2

authorized to operate in the District. In these instances, vehicle-for-hire service is being provided 17
without confirmation that the operator holds required commercial insurance, without internal 18
processes to screen out dangerous or predatory drivers, and without proper trade dress as 19
required by District law. 20
(c) Failure of such vehicle-for-hire services to comply with insurance and registration 21
requirements poses an immediate and irreparable risk of harm to passengers, operators, and the 22
public. In the event of a crash, unregistered or uninsured operators cannot provide coverage or 23
recourse for injuries or damages. 24
(d) Further, for illegal operations, there is no guarantee of processes to appropriately 25
identify and screen out dangerous operators, both in terms of operators who have demonstrated a 26
record of unsafe driving or those who pose a meaningful risk of harm to passengers. Illegal 27
operations may also lack a process for passengers to file complaints or otherwise seek reasonable 28
redress following an incident involving operator misconduct. 29
(e) Where vehicles used to provide illegal service lack proper trade dress, passengers are 30
prevented from verifying the vehicles as legitimate. This practice impedes enforcement officers’ 31
efforts to determine whether a particular operator is providing service legally. 32
(f) This illegal activity has a harmful effect on the broader for-hire vehicle industry, 33
eroding public confidence in legitimate for-hire services and undermining safety, fair 34
competition, and the District’s consumer protection framework. 35
(g) Recent proceedings at D.C. Superior Court have challenged DFHV’s authority to 36
enforce illegal for-hire-vehicle operations, as described in subsections (a) through (f), with an 37
unregistered private vehicle-for-hire company attempting to take advantage of ambiguity in the 38
Department of For-Hire Vehicles Establishment Act of 1985. 39
3

(h) Emergency legislation is therefore necessary to clarify that DFHV has had and 40
continues be empowered with the authority to address the range of threats to passenger and 41
driver safety caused by illegal for-hire vehicle operators and companies, empowering DFHV to 42
continue enforcing registration, insurance, and trade dress requirements. 43
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances in 44
section 2 constitute emergency circumstances, making it necessary that the Private Vehicle-for-45
Hire Operator Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 be adopted after a single 46
reading. 47
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 48