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Home My WebLink About20738 1 ORDINANCE NO. 20,738 2 3 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND PORTIONS OF THE LITTLE ROCK 4 TRANSPORTATION CODE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 5 6 WHEREAS, a concern has been raised because persons who would be willing to accept a position as 7 a taxi cab driver are unable to get permits because of a past criminal records,and other municipalities,such 8 as Houston, Texas, have modified their ordinances to permit non-violent felons, when the felony is more 9 than five(5)years old,to obtain a Taxi Cab Driver Permit and, 10 WHEREAS,there is a need to amend other portions of the Little Rock Transportation Code; 11 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CITY 12 OF LITTLE ROCK,ARKANSAS: 13 Section 1. Little Rock, Ark., Rev. Code § 34-38 (e)(4) is hereby amended to read as follows: 14 (c) A driver applicant shall not have been convicted under the laws of any jurisdiction 15 of any of the following offenses and has not received a pardon or order of 16 expungement from such conviction of the offense or offenses equivalent thereto as 17 described in the Arkansas Criminal Code: 18 1. Criminal homicide as described in chapter 10; A.C.A. § 5-10-101, et seq; or, 19 2. Kidnapping as described in chapter 11; A.C.A. § 5-11-101, et seq; or, 20 3. Battery in the first degree or second degree or aggravated assault,as described 21 chapter 13; A.C.A. § 5-13-201; § 5-13-2002; § 5-13-204; or, 22 4. A sexual offense as described in chapter 14; A.C.A. § 5-14-101, et seq.; or, 23 5. Robbery as described in A.C.A. §5-12-101. 24 (d) Additional criminal offenses not listed above shall disqualify a driver applicant if: 25 1. Less than two (2) years have elapsed since the date of conviction if the 26 applicant was convicted of a misdemeanor offense; 27 2. Less than five (5) years have elapsed since the date of continuous release on 28 parole, or otherwise, if the applicant was convicted of any felony offense; 29 Section 2. Little Rock, Ark., Rev. Code § 34-38 (b)(5) is hereby amended to read as follows: 30 (5) Permits. Ground transportation service vehicle permits and courtesy vehicle 31 service permits valid between January 1" and December 31' of any year 32 shall be issued by the City upon approval after the applicant has filed an 33 application for the permit and has shown that the operation of the ground 34 transportation service or courtesy vehicle service will comply with this !Page 1 of41 1 article and with all applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. The fleet 2 size of any ground transportation service, except courtesy vehicle service, 3 shall be a minimum of two(2)vehicles.No additional vehicles may be added 4 to the fleet of any ground transportation service permit holder, except 5 courtesy vehicle service, without the approval of the administrator. Ground 6 transportation service permit holders shall submit a written request to the 7 administrator for additional permits above the number of vehicle permits 8 approved in the initial or renewal application. Upon approval of additional 9 taxicab permits by the administrator, the administrator will present the 10 request for additional taxicabs to the Board of Directors. The Board of 11 Directors will review each request and either approve or disapprove the 12 request. 13 Section 3. Little Rock, Ark., Rev. Code § 34-38 (b) is hereby amended to add the following: 14 Operator permits issued other than the first of the calendar year will pay fees on a 15 pro rata auarterly basis to the end of the year. 16 Section 4. Little Rock, Ark., Rev. Code §34-48 (d) is hereby amended to read as follows: 17 (d)Renewal; delinquent permits; penalty; or, or change in terms of operator 18 permit. 19 (1) Operator and vehicle permit fees shall be paid on the basis of the 20 calendar year of January 1"through December 31" and all such permit fees shall 21 be payable on January 151 for the ensuing year. 22 (i) If the permit fees provided for in this article are not paid within thirty 23 (30)days after such becomes annually due, it is hereby declared as 24 delinquent and a penalty of 10%will be added to the total outstanding 25 balance; 26 (ii) In the event the permit fees are not paid within sixty(60)days,an 27 additional 10%penalty will be added to the total outstanding balance; 28 (iii)In the event the permit fees are not paid within ninety(90)days,an 29 additional 30%penalty will be added to the total outstanding balance. 30 (2) No additional independent taxicab operator permits shall be issued unless the 31 operator has held an independent taxicab operator permit continuously since April 32 1, 1983. [Page 2 of 41 I 1 (3) Operators shall apply for renewal of their permits at least sixty(60)days before 2 expiration of their permits. Permits shall be issued for a period of one(1)-year.The 3 administrator shall send reminder notices for renewal of operator's permits to all 4 permitted operators ninety(90)days before the expiration of the permit. 5 (4) An operator desiring a change in the terms or conditions of the permit must 6 file with the administrator at least sixty (60) days before the permit expires a 7 written request stating reasons for the requested changes. 8 (5) If the administrator determines that a denial of an operator permit renewal is 9 appropriate, or a material change in the terms or conditions of the permit is 10 required,or if a holder requests a material change in the terms or conditions of the 11 permit,the administrator shall submit for consideration to the board of directors a 12 written report containing his recommendation with supporting findings of facts. 13 Upon action being taken by the board of directors, the administrator shall issue a 14 formal notice of the action taken by the board of directors. In the case of renewal, 15 the administrator shall incorporate any changes in the terms or conditions of the 16 permit authorized by the board of directors. 17 (6) If the permit expires through no fault of the holder before a ruling on the 18 approval or denial of the renewal, the holder may continue to operate pending a 19 final decision.The holder shall cease operation of the ground transportation service 20 immediately upon denial of the request for renewal by the board of directors. 21 (7) Schedule of delinauent permit fees 22 (i) Operator Permit Penalty Day Balance Percentage Amount Amount Due 315'day I $500 I 10% I $50 I $550 6151 Day I $550 I 10% I $55 I $605 91St day $605 I 20% $121 I $726 23 (ii) Vehicle Permit Penalty Day Balance Percentage Amount Amount Due 315'day $50 10 % $5 I $55 6151 Day $55 10% $5.50 $60.50 9151 day $60 20 % $12 $72 lPage 3 of 4l 1 Section 5. Severability. In the event any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, subparagraph, 2 item, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this ordinance is declared or adjudged to be invalid or 3 unconstitutional, such declaration or adjudication shall not affect the remaining provisions of this 4 ordinance,as if such invalid or unconstitutional provision were not originally a part of this ordinance. 5 Section 6. Repealer. All ordinances, resolutions, bylaws, and other matters inconsistent with this 6 ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency. 7 Section 7. Emergency Clause. The ability to maintain taxi cab operators, and to have appropriate 8 provisions for partial license fees, and for delinquent fees, is essential to the public health, safety, and 9 welfare since they are a crucial part of the transit plans for the City; an emergency is, therefore, declared 10 to exist and this ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after the date of its passage. 11 PASSED: June 18,2013 12 ATTEST: APPROVE y. 13 14 /l. !� , `,./ 15 sa . tit City Clerk Mark Stodola, :yor 16 APP 0 E S TO LEGAL FORM: 17 18 k `7 UI ,1 ' 4444- 19 Thomas M. Carpenter,City Attor/y 20 // 21 // 22 // 23 // 24 // 25 // 26 // 27 // 28 // 29 // 30 // 31 // 32 // 33 // 34 // 35 // [Page 4 of 41