Chris Miller, Uber's public policy manager in Texas, approached the Lubbock City Council on Thursday to applaud the city for embracing the company and for what he called smart, efficient regulation.

Just before him, the owner of one of Lubbock's traditional transportation companies thanked the council for its attempt to level the playing field and remove some of the regulations on them.

These two comments were referring to the amended vehicle-for-hire ordinance Councilwoman Karen Gibson introduced at Thursday's council meeting.

The ordinance incorporated transportation networking companies like Uber and Lyft, making them legal in the city while also reducing regulation on traditional transportation companies like taxis and limousines.

It was approved on first reading by a 6-1 vote, with Lubbock Mayor Glen Robertson opposed. The council will have a final vote at an upcoming meeting.

The council chambers were filled with Uber drivers opposing

regulation, but yielded their time once the representative from Uber gave positive remarks.

The amended ordinance calls for Uber and Lyft to go through the process similar to that required of taxi companies - to purchase a permit, ensure each vehicle has passed a state-authorized inspection and require drivers to have insurance that meets the minimum requirements for vehicles under state law.

Each transportation network company also must certify each driver has not been convicted of crimes such as kidnapping, sexual or assaultive offenses or weapon violations.

Aimed to lessen the restrictions on traditional transportation companies, the updated ordinance no longer sets the taxi rates, no longer places restrictions on the number of vehicles in a fleet and no longer requires rate meters if electronic pay is available. Vehicles will no longer need inspection from the city.

Also at Thursday's meeting, the council unanimously approved the terms of a consent decree, or out-of-court agreement, written by the Department of Justice after consulting with the city and police over the lawsuit claiming the police department violated the federal Civil Rights Act in the way it administered its written and physical exams. The lawsuit was based on the fact that few Hispanics and women were passing the entrance exams.

There was no discussion on the settlement at the meeting.

Police Chief Greg Stevens told A-J Media earlier this week the police, city attorneys and members of the DOJ have been working together for several months to come up with something they believe is workable. What Stevens said they've agreed on is a new testing system, one that he said has been adopted elsewhere after similar investigations. The Lubbock Police Department purchases an industry-standard testing service, and now it's on track to switch to a provider more in line with the DOJ's requests.

Stevens said the department has been practicing with different tests, and he said his biggest goal is to continue using a test that ensures the department finds the best suitable officers.

The council also discussed and approved an updated building inspection code, something that's done every few years. It addressed plumbing, mechanical, and fuel and gas.

Included in those local amendments to the fuel and gas code is a permanent ban on the first-generation, yellow-jacketed CSST systems in new home and commercial construction, gas tubing that's been blamed for at least one death and 10 other explosions in Lubbock .

The amended code states yellow CSST is deemed to have an unacceptable performance level and, in several instances, has been damaged by electrical arcing related to direct or indirect lightning events in the area.

In the case of Brennen Teel, whose death Lubbock fire investigators blamed on the yellow CSST, lightning struck near a friend's home he was visiting and the power surge created small holes in the gas tubing that created an explosion.

Becky Teel, Brennen Teel's mother, flew in to address the council and urged the approval.

Steve O'Neal, the city's chief building official, was asked how many homes in the city currently have yellow CSST installed, and O'Neal said he'd guess there are at least 10,000. The updated code also allows for repairing existing yellow CSST as long as it's directly bonded and grounded.

It does not allow the first-generation CSST to be installed. The code allows for newer generations of CSST - ones that have shown to pass a lightning inspection - that have extra barriers and extra shields developed to be more resistant to lightning strikes, said Cyril Reasoner, chairman of Lubbock's model codes advisory committee. Examples of these are LC-1027 and LC-1024.

This will require a second and final vote scheduled for the next meeting.