# Nebraska lawmakers oppose federal rideshare liability limits  
**Published:** 2026-06-17T22:41:29.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/17/six-nebraska-women-legislators-say-federal-rideshare-safety-proposal-could-jeopardize-safety/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/nebraska-lawmakers-oppose-federal-rideshare-liability-limits

Six Nebraska state lawmakers have joined more than 275 legislators nationwide in opposing a federal provision that would limit when rideshare companies can be held liable for sexual assault, according to a [report from the Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/17/six-nebraska-women-legislators-say-federal-rideshare-safety-proposal-could-jeopardize-safety/). The lawmakers are urging U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to remove the amendment from the BUILD America 250 Act, a surface transportation bill currently moving through Congress.

State Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh, Megan Hunt, Margo Juarez, Kathleen Kauth and Daniel Conrad, along with another Omaha senator, signed the letter Monday opposing an amendment proposed by U.S. Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif. The amendment would limit automatic liability for rideshare platforms when passengers or drivers are harmed, requiring instead that companies be found grossly negligent or engaged in criminal wrongdoing to face liability.

"Under no circumstances should any corporation be shielded from liability for sexual assault," the state lawmakers wrote in their letter. Cavanaugh added that "survivors of sexual assault deserve accountability, transparency and their day in court."

The amendment would affect thousands of pending cases. As of June 2026, [there were 3,571 pending Uber sexual assault lawsuits in federal court](https://www.consumernotice.org/legal/rideshare-lawsuits/) alleging the company failed to implement appropriate safety precautions. An August 2025 New York Times investigation found that more than 400,000 Uber trips generated sexual violence reports between 2017 and 2022, though Uber publicly disclosed only about 12,500 such reports.

Fong argues the amendment would reduce rideshare fares by curbing excessive litigation. He notes that roughly one-third of rideshare fares in California and nearly one-half in Los Angeles go toward government-mandated insurance costs. However, critics say the measure would make it harder for survivors to hold companies accountable by narrowing the legal theories available to sue.

The measure also would preempt certain state-level legislation designed to boost safety. Colorado recently passed a law allowing fines against ride-hailing companies and explicitly permitting lawsuits even if companies are fined. State Sen. Kathleen Kauth said she was troubled by the federal provision's potential to prevent local legislators from implementing protections. "States' rights are states' rights for a reason," Kauth said. "We should be the ones leading the charge."

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the BUILD America 250 Act by a vote of 62-2 in May. [The bill heads next to the full House for a final vote](https://rollcall.com/2026/05/22/surface-transportation-bill-approved-by-house-committee/) before advancing to the Senate.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/17/six-nebraska-women-legislators-say-federal-rideshare-safety-proposal-could-jeopardize-safety/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/17/six-nebraska-women-legislators-say-federal-rideshare-safety-proposal-could-jeopardize-safety/.