Bill Text: HI SB1007 | 2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relating To Electric Foot Scooters.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-12-10 - Carried over to 2022 Regular Session. [SB1007 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2022-SB1007-Amended.html
|
THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
1007 |
|
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
S.D. 1 |
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO ELECTRIC FOOT SCOOTERS.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Chapter 291C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part XII to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§291C- Electric foot scooters. (a)
This section shall apply whenever an electric foot scooter is operated
upon any highway, roadway, or other designated public area set aside for the
use of electric foot scooters. Every
person operating an electric foot scooter upon a roadway shall be granted all
of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to a driver
of a vehicle under this chapter, except as to provisions of this:
(1) Section to the
contrary; and
(2) Chapter that,
by their nature, can have no application.
(b) The counties by ordinance shall regulate
operations of electric foot scooters with regard to but not limited to the following:
(1) Operations in or
upon roadways, bikeways, bicycle paths, and sidewalks;
(2) Restrictions on
maximum speed;
(3) Safety
considerations; and
(4) Insurance
requirements;
provided that no authority adopted in accordance
with this subsection shall be less restrictive than the requirements set forth
in this section.
(c) The minimum age to operate an electric foot scooter
shall be fifteen years old.
(d) No person other than the operator shall ride
upon an electric foot scooter.
(e) No person operating an electric foot scooter
shall carry any package, bundle, or article that prevents the use of both hands
in the control and operation of the electric foot scooter.
(f) Any electric foot scooter used from thirty
minutes after sunset until thirty minutes before sunrise shall be equipped with:
(1) A lamp on the front emitting a white light visible from a
distance of at least five hundred feet to the front;
(2) A lighted lamp which shall be visible for six hundred feet to
the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of head lamps on a motor
vehicle;
(3) Reflective
material at least four square inches in size and of sufficient size and
reflectivity to be visible from both sides for six hundred feet when directly
in front of lawful lower beams of head lamps on a motor vehicle, or, in lieu of
such reflective material, with a lighted lamp visible from both sides from a
distance of at least five hundred feet; and
(4) A
brake or brakes which enable the electric foot scooter's operator to stop the electric
foot scooter within twenty-five feet from a speed of ten miles per hour on dry,
level, clean pavement.
(g) No person shall operate an electric foot
scooter at a speed other than is reasonable and prudent and having regard to the
actual and potential hazards and conditions then existing; provided that no person
shall operate an electric foot scooter at a speed greater than fifteen miles
per hour.
(h) Any person who operates an electric foot scooter
recklessly in disregard of the safety of persons or property shall be assessed
penalties as set forth in section 291C-161.
(i) A person or entity that provides electric
foot scooters for hire shall not rent or lease an electric foot scooter to any person
unless each renter or lessee is provided with a copy of the electric foot scooter
ordinances or rules that have been adopted by the applicable county.
(j) An electric foot scooter shall be registered
in accordance with section 249-14.
(k) Electric foot scooters shall only be stored or docked at specific locations that shall be authorized by the counties.
SECTION 2. Section 249-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
1. By adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read:
""Electric foot scooter" means a device equipped with an electric motor and that weighs less than seventy-five pounds; has two or three wheels, handlebars, and a floorboard that can be stood upon while riding; is propelled by electric or human power; and that has a maximum speed that does not exceed fifteen miles per hour on a paved level surface, with or without human propulsion."
2. By amending the definition of "moped" to read:
""Moped" means a
device upon which a person may ride [which] that has two or three
wheels in contact with the ground, a motor having a maximum power output capability
measured at the motor output shaft, in accordance with the Society of
Automotive Engineers standards, of two horsepower (one thousand four hundred ninety-two
watts) or less and, if it is a combustion engine, a maximum piston or rotor
displacement of 3.05 cubic inches (fifty cubic centimeters) and which will
propel the device, unassisted, on a level surface at a maximum speed no greater
than thirty miles per hour; and a direct or automatic power drive system [which]
that requires no clutch or gear shift operation by the moped driver
after the drive system is engaged with the power unit. "Moped" does not include an
electric foot scooter."
SECTION 3. Section 249-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
1. By amending its title to read:
"249-14
Bicycle and electric foot scooter
fee."
2. By amending subsections (b) and (c) to read as follows:
"(b) A low-speed electric bicycle, as defined under title 15 United States Code section 2085, or an electric foot scooter, shall be required to be registered, and shall be subject to a permanent registration fee of $30, to be paid by the owners thereof to the director of finance.
(c) An owner of a bicycle having two tandem
wheels that are less than twenty inches in diameter is not required to register
that bicycle, but may do so to facilitate the return of recovered stolen
bicycles by payment of the registration fee.
The fee collected shall not be refunded or prorated. Upon receipt of the fee, the director of
finance shall number and register each bicycle or electric foot scooter
for which the fee is paid, in the owner's name, and furnish the owner with a metallic
tag or decal for each bicycle[,] or electric foot scooter, which
shall be attached to the bicycle[.] or electric foot scooter. The decal shall be affixed to a bicycle or
electric foot scooter on the upright post attached to the sprocket facing
in the forward direction. Upon initial
registration by an owner or transferee, the director of finance shall require
proof of ownership and require the owner to furnish verification of the serial
number and description contained in the proof of ownership and application for
registration. The metallic tags or
decals shall be in a form as the director of finance shall from time to time
prescribe. It shall be the duty of the
director of finance of each county to purchase a sufficient number of these
tags or decals."
SECTION 4. Section 249-14.2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§249-14.2[]]
Procedure when registration of a
bicycle, electric foot scooter,
or moped transferred. (a)
Upon transfer of registered ownership in or to a bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped, the person
whose interest is to be transferred and the transferee shall write their
signatures with pen and ink upon the certificate of registration issued for the
bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped, together with the address of
the transferee in the appropriate space provided upon the certificate.
(b) Within thirty calendar days of the transfer of registered ownership of a bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped, the transferee shall forward the certificate of registration so endorsed to the director of finance who shall file the certificate. The director of finance may charge a fee of $5 which shall be deposited into the county bikeway fund for each new certificate of registration issued. Whenever a transferee fails to comply with these provisions, the director of finance shall charge a fee of $10, in addition to the fee provided in this section, for the issuance of a new certificate of registration.
(c) The director of finance, upon receipt of the certificate of registration properly endorsed and the required fee, shall register the bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped and shall issue to the owner thereof by reason of the transfer a new certificate of registration in the manner and form provided for in an original registration.
(d) Until the director of finance has issued the new certificate of registration as provided in subsection (c), delivery of such bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped shall be deemed not to have been made and registration thereto shall be deemed not to have passed, and the intended transfer shall be deemed to be incomplete and not to be valid or effective for any purpose.
(e) In the event of the transfer by operation of law in or to a bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped, as upon inheritance, devise, or bequest, order in bankruptcy, or insolvency, execution sale, repossession upon default in performance of the terms of a lease or executory sales contract, or otherwise than by the voluntary act of the person whose interest is to be transferred, the certificate of registration shall be signed upon the spaces provided by the personal representative of, or successor in interest of the person whose registered ownership or interest is so transferred in lieu of such person. Every personal representative, receiver, trustee, sheriff, or other representative hereinabove referred to shall file with the director of finance a notice of any transfer by sale, lease, or otherwise by the person, of any such bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped, together with evidence satisfactory to the director of finance of all facts entitling such representative to make the transfer.
(f) Any person who refuses or neglects to deliver a certificate of registration to a transferee entitled thereto under this section, shall be punished as provided in section 249-14.6.
(g) Every dealer or manufacturer, upon transferring a bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped, whether by sale, lease, or otherwise, shall immediately give notice of the transfer to the director of finance upon the official form provided by the director of finance. Every such notice shall contain the date of the transfer, the names and addresses of the transferor and transferee, and such description of the bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped as may be called for in the official form.
(h) Every person, other than a dealer, upon transferring a bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped, whether by sale, lease, or otherwise, shall within ten days give notice of the transfer to the director of finance upon the official form provided by the director of finance. Every notice shall contain the date of transfer, the names and addresses of the transferor and transferee, and such description of the bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped as may be called for in the official form. Any person who violates this subsection shall be fined not more than $100.
(i) Whenever the registered owner of a bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped or any dealer or manufacturer has given notice to the director of finance of a transfer of the registered ownership to the bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped, as provided in subsection (g) or (h), and has delivered the certificate of registration bearing the transferor's signature to the transferee as required by subsection (a), the transferor shall be relieved from liability, civil or criminal, which the transferor might subsequently incur by reason of being the registered owner of the bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped.
(j) Any person who falsely or fraudulently gives notice to the director of finance of a transfer of registered ownership to a bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped shall be subject to the penalty provided in section 249-14.6."
SECTION 5. Section 249-14.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§249-14.5 New bicycles, electric foot scooters, and mopeds. All new bicycles, electric foot scooters, and mopeds, otherwise requiring the payment of fees under section 249-14, held in stock for purposes of sale shall be exempt from the fee. At the time of first sale, the dealer selling the new bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped shall:
(1) Require the buyer to complete a license application form furnished by the director of finance;
(2) Issue a copy of the completed form to the buyer; and
(3) Transmit a copy of the completed form to the director of finance with the required fees that the dealer has collected from the buyer.
Upon receipt of the fee and the completed license
application form, the director of finance shall mail a license plate and tag or
emblem for mopeds, or tag or decal for bicycles[,] or electric foot scooters,
and certificate of registration to the registered owner. Until the license plate and tag or emblem for
mopeds, or tag or decal for bicycles[,] or electric foot scooters,
is received, the bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped owner shall
keep a copy of the completed application form upon the owner's person when
riding the bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped on a public street."
SECTION 6. Section 249-15, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§249-15 Seizure and sale. The directors of finance, any person
authoritatively acting on behalf of the director of finance, or any member of a
police force of the several counties of the State may seize any bicycle, electric
foot scooter, or moped liable for the payment of the required fees or which
has no tag or decal affixed as required by section 249-14 for bicycles[,]
and electric foot scooters, or license plate and tag or emblem affixed as
required by section 249‑14.1 for mopeds, and may hold the bicycle, electric
foot scooter, or moped for a period of ten days, during which time it shall
be subject to redemption by its owner on payment of the fee due and a penalty of
$25. All bicycles, electric foot scooters,
and mopeds not so redeemed shall be sold by the county chief of police or
director of finance or their authorized representative, at public auction after
first giving five days public notice of the time and place of sale in the county
where the sale is to be held. Sale shall
be made for the best price obtainable, which amount shall be forthwith paid
over to the director of finance, accompanied by a statement containing a
description of the bicycles, electric foot scooters, or mopeds, their
serial number, makes, and any other marks of identification. The director of finance, after deducting from
the amount so received the amount of the fee and penalty due and costs of giving
public notice, shall pay any surplus to the previous registered owners of the
bicycles, electric foot scooters, or mopeds. If at the expiration of ninety days the
previous registered owners remain unknown, the surplus shall be paid into the
treasury of the county, as a government realization, and all claims to the sums
shall be forever barred."
SECTION 7. Section 249-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§249-16 Duplicate bicycle tag; duplicate
electric foot scooter tag; duplicate moped license plate and tag; and duplicate
certificates of registration. In the
event that a bicycle or electric foot scooter tag or certificate of
registration furnished under section 249-14 or 249-14.2 or moped license plate,
tag, or certificate of registration furnished under section 249-14.1 is lost,
stolen, or mutilated, or becomes illegible, the person to whom it was furnished
may obtain a duplicate thereof by presenting to the county director of finance
the number and registration of the bicycle, electric foot scooter, or
moped involved. There shall be a charge
of $2 for the duplicate tag, a fee as determined by the county director of finance
for the duplicate license plate, and $5 for the duplicate certificate of
registration."
SECTION 8. Section 286-2, Hawaii
Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
1. By adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read:
""Electric foot scooter" means a device equipped with an electric motor and that weighs less than seventy-five pounds; has two or three wheels, handlebars, and a floorboard that can be stood upon while riding; is propelled by electric or human power; and that has a maximum speed that does not exceed fifteen miles per hour on a paved level surface, with or without human propulsion."
2. By amending the definition of "moped" to read:
""Moped" means a
device upon which a person may ride [which] that has two or three
wheels in contact with the ground, a motor having a maximum power output
capability measured at the motor output shaft, in accordance with the Society
of Automotive Engineers standards, of two horsepower (one thousand four hundred
ninety-two watts) or less and, if it is a combustion engine, a maximum piston
or rotor displacement of 3.05 cubic inches (fifty cubic centimeters) and which
will propel the moped, unassisted, on a level surface at a maximum speed no
greater than thirty miles per hour; and a direct or automatic power drive system
[which] that requires no clutch or gear shift operation by the
moped driver after the drive system is engaged with the power unit. "Moped" does not include an
electric foot scooter."
SECTION 9. Section 291-31.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending its title and subsection (a) to read as follows:
"§291-31.5 Blue lights prohibited for motor vehicles, motorcycles, motor scooters, bicycles, electric foot scooters, and mopeds. (a) No person shall knowingly operate, affix or cause to be affixed, display, or possess any lamp, reflector, or illumination device that appears to be the color blue, or colors blue and red, upon any motor vehicle, motorcycle, motor scooter, bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped, except for:
(1) County law enforcement vehicles authorized and approved by the chief of police of the county in which the vehicle is operated;
(2) Department of public safety law enforcement vehicles with blue and red lamps, reflectors, or illumination devices authorized and approved by the director of public safety;
(3) Department of land and natural resources division of conservation and resources enforcement vehicles with blue and red lamps, reflectors, or illumination devices authorized and approved by the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources; or
(4) Department of transportation division of harbors law enforcement vehicles with blue and red lamps, reflectors, or illumination devices authorized and approved by the director of transportation.
This prohibition shall not apply to factory-installed instrument illumination."
SECTION 10. Section 291C-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
1. By adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read:
""Electric foot scooter" means a device equipped with an electric motor and that weighs less than seventy-five pounds; has two or three wheels, handlebars, and a floorboard that can be stood upon while riding; is propelled by electric or human power; and that has a maximum speed that does not exceed fifteen miles per hour on a paved level surface, with or without human propulsion."
2. By amending the definition of "moped" to read:
""Moped" means a
device upon which a person may ride [which] that has two or three
wheels in contact with the ground, a motor having a maximum power output capability
measured at the motor output shaft, in accordance with the Society of
Automotive Engineers standards, of two horsepower (one thousand four hundred
ninety-two watts) or less and, if it is a combustion engine, a maximum piston
or rotor displacement of 3.05 cubic inches (fifty cubic centimeters) and which
will propel the device unassisted, on a level surface at a maximum speed no
greater than thirty miles per hour; and a direct or automatic power drive system
[which] that requires no clutch or gear shift operation by the
moped driver after the drive system is engaged with the power unit. "Moped" does not include an
electric foot scooter."
SECTION 11. Section 291C-123, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) No person shall drive any vehicle other than a bicycle, electric foot scooter, or moped upon a bicycle lane or bicycle path, except upon a permanent or authorized temporary driveway, or park any vehicle upon a bicycle lane or bicycle path; provided that any vehicle may be driven or parked in a bicycle lane or bicycle path as applicable if:
(1) It is in the process of executing a legal turn, lane change, or parking maneuver;
(2) It is an authorized emergency vehicle performing the functions under section 291C-26;
(3) It is an official federal, state, or county vehicle in the performance of its actual duty;
(4) It is a stalled or broken vehicle;
(5) It is necessary to assist a stalled or broken vehicle;
(6) It is necessary to yield to an authorized emergency vehicle pursuant to section 291C-65; or
(7) It is otherwise provided by law."
SECTION 12. Section 707-700, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "vulnerable user" to read as follows:
""Vulnerable
user" means:
(1) A pedestrian legally within a street or public highway;
(2) A roadway worker actually engaged in work upon a street or public highway or in work upon utility facilities along a street or public highway, or engaged in the provision of emergency services within a street or public highway, including but not limited to:
(a) Construction and maintenance workers; and
(b) Police, fire, and other emergency responders; or
(3) A person legally operating any of the following within the street or public highway:
(a) A bicycle;
(b) A moped;
(c) An electric personal assistive mobility
device; [or]
(d) A wheelchair conveyance or other
personal mobility device[.]; or
(e) An electric foot scooter."
SECTION 13. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 14. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 15. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
Report Title:
Electric Foot Scooters; Regulation
Description:
Establishes a framework for the regulation of electric foot scooters by the State and counties. Amends definitions of "moped" to exclude electric foot scooters. (SD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
