OGUNQUIT — Gov. Paul LePage vetoed a proposed law on Friday that would set minimum requirements for liability insurance on vehicles that operate as part of transportation network companies like Uber, Lyft and Sidecar, which allow people to use their own cars and a smartphone app to pick up and deliver passengers.

Sponsored by Rep. Henry Beck, D-Waterville, the bill sought to establish these standards as Uber expanded into Old Orchard Beach, Ogunquit, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport. Beck said in a press release that Uber wanted these regulations in order to be assured of their compliance, and that failing to pass the bill will disrupt the business ahead of the busy summer tourism season. Uber began service in Portland last October.

In May, it was reported that Uber had expanded into Old Orchard Beach without seeking a license as a taxicab company, as it would have been required to do under the town’s ordinance. Biddeford has a similar ordinance; and while Uber had not announced official service in the area, it appeared to be offering rides to and from the city without registering as a taxicab company with the Code Enforce-

ment Office.

In other cities that have strict policies dictating how taxicab companies function, Uber has argued that it is not a taxicab company but rather a “technology company” that produces the software and contracts with drivers on a per-ride basis. By this contracting process, Uber drivers are not considered “employees.” Part of its coastal expansion was hampered in June after town officials in East Hampton, New York passed an ordinance requiring taxicab companies to have a business address in town, causing Uber to pull the service.

Uber has said in the past that it carries a $1 million liability insurance policy on all rides, however, this so-called primary insurance does not cover accidents that happen when the driver strikes a pedestrian, for example, as happened in San Francisco when an Uber driver using the smartphone app struck and killed a 6-year-old girl in a crosswalk.

In March of this year, secondary insurance options for Uber drivers began emerging in certain states (it was not immediately clear if this had been expanded to Maine). The head of one local taxicab company expressed frustration with the burden of liability insurance to the Journal Tribune in May, after Uber announced its expansion along coastal southern Maine.

The Maine House of Representatives faces an override vote for Gov. LePage’s veto. If it passes, the bill will be headed to the Senate.