With Uber’s future in this state hanging in the balance, state senators considered a bill yesterday that would create a regulatory framework for ride-sharing companies to operate locally.

Uber, a ride-sharing app that allows users to hail a ride with a click of their touch screen, currently does not fit into existing state regulations, and lawmakers and agencies have been debating how to classify the new business model.

One proposal by the Public Service Commission classifies Uber as a common carrier, meaning the company must follow the existing regulations for taxi and driver-for-hire services. Uber drivers would have to obtain licenses with the state and input their fingerprints into the system, and their vehicles would have to meet regular state inspections.

“While we understand that [Transportation Network Companies] have a business model that relies on self-regulation, we believe the commission’s regulations will provide the best public safety protections while allowing TNCs to operate successfully,” said Kevin Hughes, chairman of the public service commission.

Del. Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery), the sponsor of the House version of the bill, said the commission’s regulations do not recognize the unique innovations of Uber and other ride-sharing companies.

“We want to create a level playing field between taxi and ride-sharing but the Public Service Commission recommendations treat them as the same. They’re not the same,” Waldstreicher said. “They both need to be regulated, they both need to be safe, but they are different business models, and our state needs to recognize the two different styles of business models.”

The Senate bill, proposed by Sen. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), would create a new regulatory category for ride-sharing companies, allowing them to handle driver oversight independently, without state interference.

If the bill passes, the state would require companies like Uber to conduct criminal background checks, safety inspections and provide a record of their drivers to the Public Service Commission. The bill also includes other requirements: a zero-tolerance policy on driving under the influence and drivers could not discriminate or charge more to accommodate disabled users.

This bill is similar to recent regulations adopted by Virginia and Washington.

“[The bill] would allow us to continue functioning in a way that’s still efficient and still able to provide great service and consumer choice,” said Shwetha Rajashekara, general manager for Uber Maryland. “What we’re trying to do is get more continuity across the region, especially in the DMV area; there are a lot of drivers that go between the region.”

Before the hearing, Uber drivers rallied in front of the State House to lobby support for Ferguson’s bill. Uber has created 20,000 jobs in the state over the past three years, Uber DC General Manager Zuhairah Washington testified at the Senate Finance Committee hearing yesterday.

“It’s a great model of the revolution of the next step in what taxi service should be,” said Uber driver Damian Orencel, 30. “I want to give people rides; people are asking for rides; it’s a no-brainer that it should be allowed.”

Alec Davis, a freshman at St. Johns College in Annapolis, said he uses Uber two to three times per month. He prefers it to taxis because of the simplicity of using a smartphone app, and he said it usually costs less money and he doesn’t have to pay in cash.

“I’ve heard a lot about taxi companies trying to push Uber out, and I think it’s unfair that they have got a monopoly on it,” Davis said. “I support whatever would allow for the most competition between the companies.”

Several taxi drivers attended the hearing to oppose the bill. Bill Greenidge, a 50-year-old taxi driver from Baltimore, dismissed the common notion that taxi drivers are anti-technology or anti-innovation.

“What I am against is the notion that anyone could work in an industry with what appears to be a complete disregard for any of the prerequisites for anyone looking to work in a given industry,” Greenidge said. “The taxicab transportation industry already has criteria our drivers must meet. The concept here is one where all of that is discarded.”