Bill Text: CA AB544 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Electric bicycles: required equipment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-12 - From printer. May be heard in committee March 14. [AB544 Detail]
Download: California-2025-AB544-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 544
| Introduced by Assembly Member Davies |
February 11, 2025 |
An act to amend Section 21201 of the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 544, as introduced, Davies.
Electric bicycles: required equipment.
Existing law requires a bicycle, as defined, operated during darkness on a highway, sidewalk, or bikeway to be equipped with, among other things, a red reflector or a solid or flashing red light with a built-in reflector on the rear that is visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of headlamps on a motor vehicle. Existing law defines an electric bicycle as a bicycle equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor that does not exceed 750 watts of power and categorizes electric bicycles into 3 classes. A violation of the provisions relating to the requirements for equipping a bicycle or an electric bicycle is punishable as an infraction.
This bill would require an electric bicycle during all hours to be equipped with a red reflector or a solid or flashing red light with a built-in
reflector on the rear that is visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of headlamps on a motor vehicle. By expanding the requirements for equipping an electric bicycle, the violation of which would be a crime, this bill would expand an existing crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 21201 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:21201.
(a)(b) No person shall A person shall not operate on the highway a bicycle equipped with handlebars so raised that the operator must elevate his or her
their hands above the level of his or her their shoulders in order to grasp the normal steering grip area.
(c) No person shall A person shall not operate upon a highway a bicycle that is of a size that prevents the operator from safely stopping the bicycle, supporting it in an upright position with at least one foot on the ground, and restarting it in a safe manner.
(d) A bicycle or
an electric bicycle operated during darkness upon
on a highway, a sidewalk where bicycle operation is not prohibited by the local jurisdiction, or a bikeway, as defined in Section 890.4 of the Streets and Highways Code, shall be equipped with all of the following:
(1) A lamp emitting a white light that, while the bicycle is in motion, illuminates the highway, sidewalk, or bikeway in front of the bicyclist and is visible from a distance of 300 feet in front and from the sides of the bicycle.
(2) A red reflector or a solid or flashing red light with a built-in reflector on the rear that shall be visible from a distance of 500 feet to the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of headlamps on a motor vehicle.
(3) A white or yellow reflector on each pedal, shoe, or ankle visible from the front and rear of the bicycle
from a distance of 200 feet.
(4) A white or yellow reflector on each side forward of the center of the bicycle, and a white or red reflector on each side to the rear of the center of the bicycle, except that bicycles that are equipped with reflectorized tires on the front and the rear need not be equipped with these side reflectors.
The reflectors and reflectorized tires shall be of a type meeting requirements established by the department.
(e) A lamp or lamp combination, emitting a white light, attached to the operator and visible from a distance of 300 feet in front and from the sides of the bicycle, may be used in lieu of the lamp required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (d).
(f) An
electric bicycle shall comply with paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) during all hours.
