Marin legislator amends Assembly e-bike bill

Assemblymember Damon Connolly has scaled back a bill that seeks to prohibit youths under 16 from riding certain electric bicycles.

Rather than proposing a statewide ban on minors riding class 2 e-bikes, AB 1778, introduced by Connolly in January, would instead create a pilot program to enforce the restrictions only in Marin County.

The San Rafael Democrat’s amended bill was passed by the Assembly’s transportation committee this month. Connolly said he believes that the bill will go for an Assembly floor vote before summer.

“I’m confident that the bill will pass the Assembly floor,” he said.

Class 2 e-bikes are throttle-operated and can travel up to 20 mph. Such e-bikes are faster than conventional bicycles and class 1 bikes. State law prohibits youths under age 16 from riding class 3 e-bikes, which can reach a speed of 28 mph.

The bill came amid a growing concern over medical emergencies stemming from e-bike crashes in Marin. Connolly said that county data collected last fall showed that e-bike-related crashes were nine times higher for riders under age 20. He also said 22% of 911 calls for bicycle crashes were related to e-bikes between Oct. 10 and Nov. 10.

The Marin County Health and Human Services Department reported that between January and April, there were nine emergency responses to e-bike crashes and more than 40 emergency responses to conventional bicycle crashes in Marin.

Connolly noted the severity of injuries related to e-bikes.

“Physicians have seen injuries by e-bike crashes that are not just scraped knees and bruised elbows, but rather the kinds of injuries you’d expect to see in higher speed vehicles,” he said, referring to brain trauma, internal bleeding and pelvic fractures.

If the bill passes, local governments in Marin could voluntarily implement the restriction and also require all riders to wear helmets before riding class 2 bikes. These policies would be a part of a pilot program that would expire in 2029.

Local governments that join the program would be required to report to the state by Jan. 1, 2028, data such as the number of citations issued and traffic stops made to enforce the restrictions. The state could then consider enforcing statewide e-bike regulations after the pilot program ends, Connolly said.

The amendments came after discussions with the Assembly’s transportation committee. Concerns were raised over increased police interactions with minors. Questions also were raised about why the bill should be enforced at a state level when e-bike safety is only an issue in certain counties, Connolly said.

“We got the sense from the committee that the bill would not be given a hearing in its original form,” he said.

In the amended bill, those who violate the class 2 law would be required to either pay a base fine of $25 and $197 in additional fees, or complete an e-bike safety class. If a local government in Marin adopts the law, then that law enforcement agency must give warning notices to violators for the first 60 days after adoption.

Marin County Supervisor Mary Sackett collaborated with Connolly on the bill. She noted that some local youths are operating e-bikes that were marketed as class 2 bikes, but actually move faster than 20 mph. Sackett said the Board of Supervisors has not considered an ordinance on class 2 e-bikes to date.

“Education to parents and youth about what the legal classes of e-bikes are, and general e-bike safety, remains a key component of the county and Transportation Authority of Marin’s strategy,” Sackett said.

In Marin, the Tamalpais Union High School District is considering a policy that would require students to register their e-bikes with their schools if they want to park their bikes on campus. Students would also be prohibited from using e-bikes that can travel more than 20 mph.

The district is working with Central Marin and Mill Valley police on the e-bike program, which would also require parents to sign letters promising their children won’t modify their e-bikes to exceed the 20-mph limit.

During an April 16 school board meeting, concern was raised about some models of the Super 73 e-bike brand, which Central Marin police Chief Michael Norton said are not true e-bikes because of their wattage and enable riders to exceed 20 mph.

Supporters of AB 1778 include the California Medical Association, the Marin County Bicycle Coalition and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The Marin County Council of Mayors and Council Members also backs the bill. Tiburon Mayor Alice Fredericks, the council’s legislative committee chair, said the group supports the bill to strike a balance between encouraging “sustainable transportation” like e-bikes and ensuring public safety.

“Allowing local jurisdictions that have identified a safety risk to set a prohibition on use has the potential to significantly reduce crashes, help ensure that our streets remain safe for everyone, and collect data to clarify the safety risk and its potential management,” Fredericks said.

Bob Mittelstaedt, co-founder of the local nonprofit E-bike Access, said AB 1778’s original version and its statewide policy for class 2 e-bikes was better than the amended version. He argued that the amended bill, which only applies to Marin County, ultimately depends on the e-bike ordinance being adopted and enforced across the county.

“If we end up with a patchwork of different rules for different areas in the county, they will not be enforced,” Mittelstaedt said. “And the data to be collected over the three years of the test program will not show a decrease in accidents, which is one purpose of the bill.”