Gov. Tim Walz held a ceremonial bill signing Tuesday for legislation that sets pay minimums for Uber and Lyft drivers and provides the drivers with new insurance provisions, but does not lock drivers into independent-contractor status as other states' laws have.

Walz's signature comes after he vetoed a similar measure last year. In March, the Minneapolis City Council voted to set pay minimums, prompting Uber and Lyft to threaten to leave the city unless a statewide law was passed with lower rates than what Minneapolis wanted. After months of high-wire negotiations as the companies dug in their heels and state legislators worked to persuade Minneapolis council members to accept lower pay for drivers, the Legislature passed a deal in the waning hours of the 2024 session.

"If it was easy, everybody else would have done it," Walz said.

The rates of $1.28 per mile and 31 cents per minute are lower than what drivers' advocates had hoped for, but DFL leaders say the law will mean drivers' pay will rise about 20% when the rates take effect Jan. 1.

Walz said he saw the new pay minimums and other protections for drivers as part of Minnesota's legacy of fighting for workers, and for immigrants who accept difficult jobs in the United States.

"The jobs you can get are the jobs you take, but the jobs shouldn't kill you," Walz said.

Eid Ali, president of the Minnesota Uber/Lyft Drivers Association and one of the chief drivers' advocates, said the pay increase will be meaningful to drivers who are trying to support families by driving. A study commissioned by the state Department of Labor and Industry in March found that a majority of drivers drive full-time. Ali said most of the drivers his association represents drive 12 to 14 hours per day.

"I don't think this is a gig economy or gig work," Ali said.

Minneapolis Democrats Sen. Omar Fateh and Rep. Hodan Hassan, who carried the bill in the Senate and House respectively, thanked the drivers' group for their advocacy.

"It was everyday, average Minnesotans fighting corporate America," Hassan said. "It was a hard fight. There were a lot of tears, but we won and the drivers won."

This is a developing story, check back for updates.