No. CS/HB 243
Filed under Transportation.
Electric Bicycles; Provides requirements for operation of electric bicycles; provides penalties; creates Electric Bicycle Safety Task Force adjunct to DHSMV & provides requirements therefor; requires certain reports to Governor & Legislature by specified dates.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDElectric bicycles on sidewalks or other pedestrian areas cannot go faster than 10 mph whenever a pedestrian is within 50 feet, and riders on shared pathways away from roads must yield to pedestrians and sound a signal before passing.
Breaking either the yield-and-signal rule or the 10 mph proximity limit is a noncriminal, nonmoving traffic infraction, the same civil penalty track used for minor traffic tickets.
A new task force under the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will study electric bicycle safety and recommend legal changes, then report to the Governor and Legislature by October 2026 and dissolve.
Every police department, sheriff's office, and the Highway Patrol must start logging all electric bicycle crashes within 30 days, feeding a statewide report due by the end of October 2026.
AIOn shared pathways away from roads, including those in parks, an e-bike rider must yield to any pedestrian ahead and sound an audible signal before overtaking and passing them.
AIOn a sidewalk or other pedestrian area, an e-bike may not go faster than 10 miles per hour whenever a pedestrian is within 50 feet, a hard speed ceiling tied to proximity.
AIStarting 30 days after enactment, the Highway Patrol and every police department and sheriff's office must track all electric bicycle crashes they investigate, including date, e-bike class, rider age, and license status, feeding a statewide report DHSMV must deliver by October 31, 2026.
AIA new task force made up of law enforcement, local government, industry, medical, and advocacy representatives is created to study electric bicycle safety law and recommend changes.
AIThe task force must deliver legislative recommendations to the Governor and legislative leaders before October 1, 2026, and it dissolves once that report is submitted; the authorizing statute itself is repealed on that date.
AIBreaking either the yield-and-signal rule or the 10 mph proximity limit is a noncriminal nonmoving traffic violation, the same civil-penalty track used for minor traffic offenses.