SEC. 43-157. DEFINITIONS.

   In this article:

   (1)   DIRECTOR means the director of the department designated by the city manager to enforce and administer this article and includes representatives, agents, or department employees designated by the director.

   (2)   OPERATOR means an individual or company that has been issued an operating authority permit under this article.

   (3)   REBALANCE means moving shared dockless vehicles from an area of low demand to an area of high demand.

   (4)   SHARED DOCKLESS VEHICLE means a bicycle, an electric bicycle pursuant to the definition set forth in Texas Transportation Code Section 664.001, as amended, or a motor-assisted scooter, pursuant to the definition set forth in Texas Transportation Code, Section 551.351, that is intended to be rented or leased to different users.

   (5)   SHARED DOCKLESS VEHICLE SERVICE means a service to rent, lease, or sell shared dockless vehicles in the public right-of-way for the purpose of transportation or conveyance. (Ord. Nos. 30936; 32236)

SEC. 43-158. GENERAL AUTHORITY AND DUTY OF DIRECTOR.

   (a)   The director may issue an operating authority permit to a shared dockless vehicle service for use of the public right-of-way to sell, rent, lease, or exchange, offer to sell, rent, lease, or exchange, or take order for the use of shared dockless vehicles.

   (b)   The director shall implement and enforce this article and may by written order establish rules or regulations, consistent with this article and state or federal law, as the director determines are necessary to discharge his or her duty under, or to affect the policy of, this article, to achieve a safe, orderly, equitable, and multi-modal transportation system. The director's rules and regulations may include but are not limited to, rules or regulations on hours of operation, the appropriate number of operators to be permitted, the number of shared dockless vehicles that may be placed in the public right-of-way, rebalancing requirements, and data-sharing requirements. The director may contract with vendors to assist with data collection and analysis and to collect and store shared dockless vehicles deployed or parked in violation of this chapter. (Ord. Nos. 30936 ; 31479; 32236)

SEC. 43-159. ESTABLISHMENT OF RULES AND REGULATIONS.

   (a)   Before adopting, amending, or abolishing a rule, the director shall hold a public hearing on the proposal.

   (b)   The director shall fix the time and place of the hearing and, in addition to notice required under the Open Meetings Act (Chapter 551, Texas Government Code), as amended, shall notify each operator and such other persons as the director determines are interested in the subject matter of the hearing.

   (c)   After the public hearing, the director shall notify all operators and other interested persons of the director's action and shall post an order adopting, amending, or abolishing a rule on the official bulletin board in city hall for a period of not fewer than 10 days. The order becomes effective immediately upon expiration of the posting period. (Ord. Nos. 30936; 32236)

SEC. 43-160. OPERATING AUTHORITY PERMIT.

   (a)   A person commits an offense if, within the city, the person operates, or causes or permits the operation of, a shared dockless vehicle service without a valid operating authority permit issued under this article.

   (b)   An operator shall abide by the requirements of this article and any rules or regulations adopted by the director. (Ord. Nos. 30936; 32236)

SEC. 43-161. APPLICATION FOR OPERATING AUTHORITY PERMIT.

   (a)   To obtain an operating authority permit, an applicant shall submit an application on the form and in the manner prescribed by the director. The applicant must be the person who will own, control, or operate the proposed shared dockless vehicle service.

   (b)   An applicant shall file with the director a verified application statement, to be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee, containing the following, in addition to the information needed under Subsection (c):

      (1)   the form of business of the applicant and, if the business is a corporation or association, a copy of the documents establishing the business and the name and address of each person with a 20 percent or greater ownership interest in the business;

      (2)   the verified signature of the applicant;

      (3)   the address of the fixed facilities to be used in the operation, if any, and the address of the applicant's corporate headquarters, if different from the address of the fixed facilities;

      (4)   the name of the person designated by the applicant to receive on behalf of the applicant any future notices sent by the city to the operator, and that person's contact information, including a mailing address, telephone number, and email or other electronic address;

      (5)   documentary evidence from an insurance company indicating that such insurance company has bound itself to provide the applicant with the liability insurance required by this article;

      (6)   documentary evidence of payment of ad valorem taxes on property within the city, if any, to be used in connection with the operation of the proposed shared dockless vehicle service;

      (7)   documentary evidence from a bonding or insurance company or a bank indicating that the bonding or insurance company or bank has bound itself to provide the applicant with the performance bond or irrevocable letter of credit required by this article;

      (8)   the number and types of shared dockless vehicles to be operated;

      (9)   an agreement to indemnify the city; and

      (10)   three references from municipal bodies located in North America where the applicant is currently operating.

   (c)   The director shall review the application for an operating authority permit and determine if the following criteria have been met, in addition to other criteria that the director may establish by rule or regulation:

      (1)   the operator's effort to educate users and ensure compliance by its users with applicable laws;

      (2)   the operator's capacity to comply with this article, rules and regulations issued by the director, and all other state or federal laws or regulations;

      (3)   the operator's experience operating shared dockless vehicle services, including the operator's compliance with applicable laws; and

      (4)   the operator's efforts to increase access to shared dockless vehicle service to low-income and non-English speaking users.

   (d)   An operating authority permit may be renewed following the process in this section.

   (e)   The initial application for an operating authority permit must be accompanied by an application fee of $2,000 and the appropriate vehicle fee as specified in Section 43-172. Applications to renew an operating authority permit must be accompanied by an application fee of $1,000 and the appropriate vehicle fee as specified in Section 43-172. (Ord. Nos. 30936 ; 31479; 32236)

SEC. 43-162. CHANGES TO INFORMATION IN OPERATING AUTHORITY APPLICATION.

   (a)   Any changes to the information provided in the operating authority permit application must be reported to the director, in the manner prescribed by the director, within 10 days of the change.

   (b)   If the information reported to the director under this section includes an increase in the number of shared dockless vehicles, the director may approve the additional shared dockless vehicles. If the director approves the additional shared dockless vehicles, the operator shall pay any additional vehicle fees due under Section 43-172 before the additional vehicles are allowed to operate. (Ord. Nos. 30936; 32236)

SEC. 43-163. EXPIRATION OF OPERATING AUTHORITY PERMIT.

   An operating authority permit expires one year from the date it is issued. (Ord. Nos. 30936; 32236)