Democratic Rep. Jenny Willford said parts of her life remain in limbo since she was sexually assaulted by a Lyft driver in 2024 outside of her home in Northglenn. While her lawsuit against Lyft is moving forward and prosecutors have charged the man with unlawful sexual contact, he still has not been located and has never been arrested.
“I feel like there’s not a day that goes by that what happened to me doesn’t pop up in my head or doesn’t impact me in some way,” Willford said.
This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
Willford first told her story publicly last year. It was the impetus for a rideshare safety bill she sponsored that cleared the legislature with wide support, but was later vetoed by the governor over concerns about privacy and implementation.
“That veto was obviously, it was emotional, it was really devastating and frustrating,” Willford said recently.
Willford is trying again this session with a new bill introduced on Monday that seeks to increase requirements for drivers’ background checks, set timelines for how companies respond to complaints, and provide more opportunities to record rides.
“Audio and video recording has to be integrated through the (transportation network company) platform because that way we know that consent can be verifiable,” Willford said.
In his veto message last year, Gov. Jared Polis said the bill went too far in its “unclear language on audio-video recording” and “inoperable timelines to produce new regulatory rules.”
The companies worked hard to defeat last year’s bill, with Uber threatening to leave the state if it became law, and sending its users messages through the app, urging them to get involved. The threat to close up shop in Colorado appeared to impact Polis’ decision.
“I want to make sure that Uber, Lyft, and others will be able to continue to operate in Colorado, but are far more accountable for the safety of riders and drivers,” Polis said.
Willford said she spent months after the veto trying to decide the best path forward, including whether to try sending the issue to voters. But she said the potential for an extremely long and complicated ballot this fall would have made that effort challenging, so she worked to find a compromise with the Governor.
“Do I wish that the bill went farther, further in some areas? Yeah, absolutely. I do. And at the same time, I think that there is a lot of really great stuff in this bill that is so necessary,” she said.
While the bill largely mirrors the proposal last year, there are some changes. While her original bill would have banned drivers from offering food and beverages to passengers, now those freebies would just have to be factory-sealed. People would be banned from driving if they have a felony conviction for domestic violence, stalking or menacing, or fraud, along with any unlawful sexual contact conviction, including misdemeanors. The Public Utilities Commission would get 18 months to implement rules.
Under the bill, drivers would be banned from letting others drive under their accounts, and companies would have to come up with a policy for impostor accounts and account sharing. Prosecutors say the accused in Willford’s case, Mukhammadali Mukadyrov, was acting as a rideshare driver while using the vehicle and account of another person at the time of the alleged offense.
Other key provisions of the 2026 proposal:
Private background checks for drivers every six months, paid for by the rideshare company Creating a process to share information between companies regarding deactivated drivers. Companies must respond to a subpoena or search warrant related to a complaint within 72 hours. Both riders and drivers must opt into an audio/video recording of a ride. Companies must submit an annual report to the legislature, attorney general and Public Utilities Commission on a range of data such as the number of sexual assaults, verbal threats, physical threats and harassment.CPR News is reaching out to Uber and Lyft for their comment on the new bill and will update with their responses. Last year, the companies said the requirements for background checks and audio and video recordings in Willford’s original bill were unfeasible, would have increased costs significantly, and raised major user privacy concerns.
Uber is facing a federal lawsuit from a group of consolidated claims over sexual assaults by drivers. A North Carolina jury recently found the company liable for sexual assault in a separate case there and issued a $5,000 award.
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, with support from news outlets throughout the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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