<!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ --></p> <p>from <a href=""https://calmatters.org/author/levi-sumagaysay/"" title=""Posts" by="" levi="" sumagaysay="" class=""author" url="" fn="" rel=""author"">Levi Sumagasai</a>CalMatters</p> <p>This story was originally published by <a href=""https://calmatters.org/"">CalMatters</a>. <a href=""https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/"">Sign up</a> for their newsletters.</p> <p>Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed a bill resulting from a deal between Uber and California lawyers, scrapping two competing initiatives that would have likely put hundreds of millions of dollars in political spending off the November ballot.</p> <p>The new law would allow Uber to reduce its liability in crashes while subjecting the company to new rules regarding background checks on its drivers. </p> <p>Uber and Consumer Attorneys of California qualified <a href=""https://calmatters.org/economy/2026/02/uber-california-ballot-initiatives/"">competitive measures</a> on the ballot, but struck a deal that allows them to avoid a costly battle — each side has either raised or given more than $75 million to their campaigns — over liability around manual travel. Uber Wanted to Limit Contingency Attorney Fees on Medical Reimbursements for All California Crashes; the lawyers’ group wanted to increase Uber’s liability for sexual misconduct. </p> <p>the compromise <a href=""https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb623"">Senate Bill 623</a>specifically applies to crashes involving only ride-hailing services — not all crashes on the state’s roads, as Uber’s measure suggests. It would not limit attorneys’ fees, but it would limit the amount claimants can recover for medical expenses for treatment from lien-based providers. Medical liens allow accident victims to begin treatment without paying upfront while their case is pending; the law would also prohibit the sale of such liens. In addition, lawyers will be prohibited from referring clients to medical professionals with whom they have close relationships. </p> <p>The deal would require annual criminal background checks on drivers and expands the types of crimes that disqualify them from driving for a company like Uber. </p> <p>Uber’s ads described its campaign as a battle against unscrupulous lawyers who push accident victims into unnecessary medical treatment. Advocates said Uber’s measure would limit crash victims’ access to lawyers and possible medical care.</p> <p>The lawyers agreed to the deal because they were willing to “accept and advocate for liability,” Doug Salzer, president of the Consumer Attorneys of California, told CalMatters. “We hope we’ve provided a road map for the federal government and other states on how to stand up to corporations that don’t want to take responsibility.”</p> <p>Uber that is <a href=""https://calmatters.org/economy/2026/06/uber-california-insurance-liability/"">trying to reduce his responsibility</a> in several ways, it effectively reduces the cost it will incur from the medical bills of people injured in trip-disruption accidents. </p> <p>“This legislation puts meaningful safeguards in place to better protect accident victims, increase transparency and accountability in the medical lien system, and strengthen safety,” Ramona Prieto, Uber’s head of public policy for the western United States, said in an emailed statement.</p> <p>This article was <a href=""https://calmatters.org/economy/2026/06/uber-ballot-measure-deal/"">originally published on CalMatters</a> and is republished under <a href=""https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives</a> license.</p> <p> Copy the HTML
