Bill Text: NY A00252 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires the use of a fire-resistant blanket, bag or container when charging a bicycle with electric assist or an electric scooter; requires sellers of such vehicles to include a fire-resistant blanket, bag, or container with the sale of each e-bike or e-scooter; establishes fines.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-6)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - referred to transportation [A00252 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A00252-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           252

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. EACHUS, COLTON, JACOBSON, McDONOUGH, GRAY, DeSTE-
          FANO, ZINERMAN, GALLAGHER, SAYEGH, SHIMSKY, SIMONE, TAYLOR, BENEDETTO,
          EPSTEIN,  BEEPHAN, CHANG, K. BROWN, HYNDMAN, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, LEVEN-
          BERG, DAVILA, COOK, STECK, WOERNER, RAGA -- read once and referred  to
          the Committee on Transportation

        AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to the use of a
          fire-resistant  blanket, bag or container when charging a bicycle with
          electric assist or an electric scooter

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  vehicle  and  traffic law is amended by adding a new
     2  section 1244 to read as follows:
     3    § 1244. Battery pack; fire-resistant blanket. 1.  Every  bicycle  with
     4  electric  assist  shall be sold with a fiberglass fire-resistant blanket
     5  which shall be used when charging  the  bicycle  with  electric  assist.
     6  Every  person  charging  a  bicycle with electric assist shall place the
     7  lithium-ion battery pack under such fiberglass  fire-resistant  blanket,
     8  or  in  a  fire-resistant bag or container, while the charging is taking
     9  place. If the battery cannot be removed from the bicycle  with  electric
    10  assist  and charged separately, then a fiberglass fire-resistant blanket
    11  shall be placed over the entire bicycle with electric assist.
    12    2. Sellers of bicycles with electric assist shall include a fiberglass
    13  fire-resistant blanket or fire-resistant bag or  container  which  meets
    14  the  requirements  of this section for the particular bicycle with elec-
    15  tric assist being purchased with each purchase of a bicycle  with  elec-
    16  tric assist.
    17    3.  A  violation  of  this section shall be punished by a fine of five
    18  hundred dollars for the first violation and an additional  five  hundred
    19  dollars for each subsequent violation.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01496-01-5
        A. 252                              2

     1    4.  For  the purposes of this section, the term "fire-resistant" shall
     2  mean a fiberglass blanket or a bag or container which  meets  the  defi-
     3  nition  of  fire  resistance  as  defined in the state fire code as that
     4  property of materials or their assemblies that prevents or  retards  the
     5  passage of excessive heat, hot gases, or flames under conditions of use.
     6    §  2.  The  vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
     7  1290 to read as follows:
     8    § 1290. Battery pack; fire-resistant blanket. 1. Every electric scoot-
     9  er shall be sold with a fiberglass fire-resistant blanket which shall be
    10  used when charging the electric scooter. Every person charging an  elec-
    11  tric  scooter shall place the lithium-ion battery pack under such fiber-
    12  glass fire-resistant blanket, or in a fire-resistant bag  or  container,
    13  while  the  charging  is  taking place. If the battery cannot be removed
    14  from the electric scooter and  charged  separately,  then  a  fiberglass
    15  fire-resistant blanket shall be placed over the entire electric scooter.
    16    2. Sellers of electric scooters shall include a fiberglass fire-resis-
    17  tant blanket or fire-resistant bag or container which meets the require-
    18  ments  of  this  section  for  the  particular  electric  scooter  being
    19  purchased with each purchase of an electric scooter.
    20    3. A violation of this section shall be punished by  a  fine  of  five
    21  hundred  dollars  for the first violation and an additional five hundred
    22  dollars for each subsequent violation.
    23    4. For the purposes of this section, the term  "fire-resistant"  shall
    24  mean  a  fiberglass  blanket or a bag or container which meets the defi-
    25  nition of fire resistance as defined in the  state  fire  code  as  that
    26  property  of  materials or their assemblies that prevents or retards the
    27  passage of excessive heat, hot gases, or flames under conditions of use.
    28    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.