Bill Text: MI HB4782 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Chaptered
Bill Title: Vehicles; bicycles; definition and regulation of electric bicycles; provide for. Amends secs. 32b, 33 & 657 of 1949 PA 300 (MCL 257.32b et seq.) & adds secs. 13e & 662a.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-10-31 - Assigned Pa 139'17 With Immediate Effect [HB4782 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2017-HB4782-Chaptered.html
Act No. 139
Public Acts of 2017
Approved by the Governor
October 29, 2017
Filed with the Secretary of State
October 30, 2017
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 28, 2018
STATE OF MICHIGAN
99TH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2017
Introduced by Reps. Hughes, Kesto, Marino, Lucido and Leutheuser
ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 4782
AN ACT to amend 1949 PA 300, entitled “An act to provide for the registration, titling, sale, transfer, and regulation of certain vehicles operated upon the public highways of this state or any other place open to the general public or generally accessible to motor vehicles and distressed vehicles; to provide for the licensing of dealers; to provide for the examination, licensing, and control of operators and chauffeurs; to provide for the giving of proof of financial responsibility and security by owners and operators of vehicles; to provide for the imposition, levy, and collection of specific taxes on vehicles, and the levy and collection of sales and use taxes, license fees, and permit fees; to provide for the regulation and use of streets and highways; to create certain funds; to provide penalties and sanctions for a violation of this act; to provide for civil liability of manufacturers, the manufacturers of certain devices, the manufacturers of automated technology, upfitters, owners, and operators of vehicles and service of process on residents and nonresidents; to regulate the introduction and use of certain evidence; to regulate and certify the manufacturers of certain devices; to provide for approval and certification of installers and servicers of certain devices; to provide for the levy of certain assessments; to provide for the enforcement of this act; to provide for the creation of and to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state and local agencies; to impose liability upon the state or local agencies; to provide appropriations for certain purposes; to repeal all other acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act or contrary to this act; and to repeal certain parts of this act on a specific date,” by amending sections 32b, 33, and 657 (MCL 257.32b, 257.33, and 257.657), section 32b as amended by 2012 PA 424, section 33 as amended by 2015 PA 127, and section 657 as amended by 2015 PA 126, and by adding sections 13e and 662a.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
Sec. 13e. “Electric bicycle” means a device upon which an individual may ride that satisfies all of the following:
(a) The device is equipped with all of the following:
(i) A seat or saddle for use by the rider.
(ii) Fully operable pedals for human propulsion.
(iii) An electric motor of not greater than 750 watts.
(b) The device falls within 1 of the following categories:
(i) Class 1 electric bicycle. As used in this subparagraph, “class 1 electric bicycle” means an electric bicycle that is equipped with an electric motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that disengages or ceases to function when the electric bicycle reaches a speed of 20 miles per hour.
(ii) Class 2 electric bicycle. As used in this subparagraph, “class 2 electric bicycle” means an electric bicycle that is equipped with a motor that propels the electric bicycle to a speed of no more than 20 miles per hour, whether the rider is pedaling or not, and that disengages or ceases to function when the brakes are applied.
(iii) Class 3 electric bicycle. As used in this subparagraph, “class 3 electric bicycle” means an electric bicycle that is equipped with a motor that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling and that disengages or ceases to function when the electric bicycle reaches a speed of 28 miles per hour.
Sec. 32b. (1) “Moped” means a 2- or 3-wheeled vehicle to which both of the following apply:
(a) It is equipped with a motor that does not exceed 100 cubic centimeters piston displacement and cannot propel the vehicle at a speed greater than 30 miles per hour on a level surface.
(b) Its power drive system does not require the operator to shift gears.
(2) Moped does not include an electric bicycle.
Sec. 33. “Motor vehicle” means every vehicle that is self-propelled, but for purposes of chapter 4 of this act motor vehicle does not include industrial equipment such as a forklift, a front-end loader, or other construction equipment that is not subject to registration under this act. Motor vehicle does not include an electric patrol vehicle being operated in compliance with the electric patrol vehicle act, 1997 PA 55, MCL 257.1571 to 257.1577. Motor vehicle does not include an electric personal assistive mobility device. Motor vehicle does not include an electric carriage. Motor vehicle does not include a commercial quadricycle. Motor vehicle does not include an electric bicycle.
Sec. 657. Each person riding a bicycle, electric bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, or moped or operating a low-speed vehicle or commercial quadricycle upon a roadway has all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle under this chapter, except for special regulations in this article and except for the provisions of this chapter that by their nature do not apply.
Sec. 662a. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, an individual riding an electric bicycle is subject to the same requirements under this act as an individual riding a bicycle.
(2) Beginning on January 1, 2018, a manufacturer or distributor of electric bicycles offered for sale or distribution in this state shall permanently affix in a prominent location on the electric bicycle a label that contains the classification number, top assisted speed, and motor wattage of the electric bicycle. The label required under this subsection shall be printed in Arial font and shall be at least 9-point type.
(3) A person shall not tamper with or modify an electric bicycle so as to change the manufactured motor-powered speed capability or motor engagement of the electric bicycle without replacing the label required under subsection (2) with an appropriate label printed in Arial font and in at least 9-point type. For purposes of this act, a device shall not be considered an electric bicycle if the motor is modified in a manner that no longer meets the criteria described in section 13e, or if the motor exceeds 750 watts.
(4) All of the following apply to a class 3 electric bicycle:
(a) A class 3 electric bicycle shall not be operated by an individual less than 14 years of age. An individual less than 14 years of age may ride as a passenger on a class 3 electric bicycle that is designed to accommodate passengers.
(b) An individual less than 18 years of age who operates or rides as a passenger on a class 3 electric bicycle shall wear a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet that meets federal standards established by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission or the American Society for Testing and Materials.
(5) An electric bicycle shall comply with applicable equipment and manufacturing requirements for electric bicycles established under federal law, including standards adopted by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission and compiled in 16 CFR part 1512.
(6) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (7), an individual may operate an electric bicycle on any part of a highway that is open to a bicycle, including, but not limited to, a lane designated for the exclusive use of bicycles and the shoulder.
(7) An individual shall not operate an electric bicycle within a city that prohibits the use of nonemergency motor vehicles, unless the city council of that city, by majority vote, adopts a resolution allowing the operation of electric bicycles within city limits. An individual shall not operate an electric bicycle within the Mackinac Island State Park, unless he or she has obtained the required permit from the Mackinac Island State Park Commission created in part 767 of the natural resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.76701 to 324.76709, or unless the Mackinac Island State Park Commission authorizes the operation of electric bicycles within its jurisdiction. If a city described in this subsection or the Mackinac Island State Park Commission authorizes the operation of electric bicycles within its jurisdiction, the city or the Mackinac Island State Park Commission may regulate the operation of electric bicycles within its jurisdiction.
(8) An individual may operate a class 1 electric bicycle on a linear trail that has an asphalt, crushed limestone, or similar surface, or a rail trail. A local authority or agency of this state having jurisdiction over a trail described in this subsection may regulate or prohibit the operation of a class 1 electric bicycle on that trail.
(9) An individual may operate a class 2 or class 3 electric bicycle on a linear trail that has an asphalt, crushed limestone, or similar surface, or a rail trail if authorized by the local authority or agency of this state having jurisdiction over the trail.
(10) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, an individual shall not operate an electric bicycle on a trail that is designated as nonmotorized and that has a natural surface tread that is made by clearing and grading the native soil with no added surfacing materials. A local authority or agency of this state having jurisdiction over a trail described in this subsection may allow and regulate the operation of an electric bicycle on that trail.
(11) This state or a local authority or agency of this state shall administer the provisions of this section in a manner that complies with the Americans with disabilities act of 1990, Public Law 101-336, and the persons with disabilities civil rights act, 1976 PA 220, MCL 37.1101 to 37.1607.
(12) Before an entity described in subsections (7) to (10) may prohibit, authorize, or regulate the use of electric bicycles within its jurisdiction, that entity shall hold a public hearing on the matter.
(13) Subsections (6) to (10) do not apply to the use of electric bicycles on a congressionally authorized public trail system.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.
This act is ordered to take immediate effect.
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Secretary of the Senate
Approved
Governor
