State officials say they can't conduct the complete study on background checks that some lawmakers wanted as a condition for allowing ride-hailing in Nevada.
The Nevada Transportation Authority told lawmakers Monday that they don't have authority to force drivers for Uber and Lyft to participate in fingerprint background checks. Lawmakers wanted to compare whether fingerprinting and FBI background checks are more effective than the checks Uber and Lyft do now.
Background checks were a major sticking point when lawmakers considered ride-hailing bills this spring.
Taxi companies and Democrats argued potential drivers could use false identities to pass background checks if fingerprinting wasn't used.
State officials and ride-hailing companies say the third-party checks are faster, and say FBI checks sometimes flag arrests but don't tell the final outcome of an investigation
