S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7059
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 29, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. TITONE, FAHY, LUPARDO -- read once and referred
   to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, the  highway  law  and  the
   general  municipal  law,  in  relation  to  the definition of electric
   assisted bicycle

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The  vehicle  and  traffic law is amended by adding a new
 section 102-c to read as follows:
   § 102-C. ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICYCLE.  AN  "ELECTRIC  ASSISTED  BICYCLE"
 SHALL MEAN A BICYCLE EQUIPPED WITH FULLY OPERABLE PEDALS AND AN ELECTRIC
 MOTOR OF LESS THAN SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY WATTS. AN ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICY-
 CLE  WITH A MOTOR THAT PROVIDES ASSISTANCE ONLY WHEN THE RIDER IS PEDAL-
 ING, AND THAT CEASES TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE WHEN THE BICYCLE REACHES  THE
 SPEED OF TWENTY MILES PER HOUR, IS A CLASS ONE ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICYCLE
 OR A LOW-SPEED PEDAL-ASSISTED ELECTRIC BICYCLE.
   § 2. Section 121-b of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chap-
 ter 160 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
   § 121-b. Limited use motorcycle. A limited use vehicle having only two
 or three wheels, with a seat or saddle for the operator, EXCEPT ELECTRIC
 ASSISTED  BICYCLES AS DEFINED IN SECTION ONE HUNDRED TWO-C OF THIS ARTI-
 CLE. A limited use motorcycle having a  maximum  performance  speed,  of
 more  than  thirty miles per hour but not more than forty miles per hour
 shall be a class A limited use  motorcycle.  A  limited  use  motorcycle
 having  a  maximum  performance speed of more than twenty miles per hour
 but not more than thirty miles per hour, shall be a class B limited  use
 motorcycle.  A limited use motorcycle having a maximum performance speed
 of not more than twenty miles per hour shall be a class  C  limited  use
 motorcycle.
   § 3. Section 125 of the vehicle and traffic law, as amended by chapter
 365 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD07107-01-7

 A. 7059                             2
 
   § 125. Motor  vehicles. Every vehicle operated or driven upon a public
 highway which is propelled by  any  power  other  than  muscular  power,
 except  (a)  electrically-driven mobility assistance devices operated or
 driven by a person with a disability, (a-1) electric personal  assistive
 mobility  devices  operated  outside  a  city  with  a population of one
 million or more, (b) vehicles which run only upon rails or  tracks,  (c)
 snowmobiles as defined in article forty-seven of this chapter, [and] (d)
 all  terrain  vehicles  as  defined  in  article  forty-eight-B  of this
 chapter, AND (E) ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICYCLES AS DEFINED  IN  SECTION  ONE
 HUNDRED  TWO-C  OF THIS ARTICLE.  For the purposes of title four of this
 chapter, the term motor vehicle shall exclude fire and  police  vehicles
 other than ambulances.  For the purposes of titles four and five of this
 chapter the term motor vehicles shall exclude farm type tractors and all
 terrain type vehicles used exclusively for agricultural purposes, or for
 snow  plowing,  other than for hire, farm equipment, including self-pro-
 pelled machines used exclusively in growing, harvesting or handling farm
 produce, and self-propelled caterpillar or crawler-type equipment  while
 being operated on the contract site.
   §  4. Section 159 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended to read as
 follows:
   § 159. Vehicle.  Every device in, upon, or  by  which  any  person  or
 property  is  or  may  be  transported  or  drawn upon a highway, except
 devices moved by human power or used exclusively upon  stationary  rails
 or  tracks,  AND  ELECTRIC  ASSISTED  BICYCLES AS DEFINED IN SECTION ONE
 HUNDRED TWO-C OF THIS ARTICLE.
   § 5. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding  a  new  section
 1238-a to read as follows:
   §  1238-A. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICY-
 CLES, OPERATORS AND PASSENGERS. 1.  AN  ELECTRIC  ASSISTED  BICYCLE,  AS
 DEFINED IN SECTION ONE HUNDRED TWO-C OF THIS CHAPTER, OR THE OPERATOR OF
 AN  ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICYCLE, SHALL COMPLY WITH ALL OF THE RULES, REGU-
 LATIONS AND PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO A BICYCLE  OR  THE  OPERATOR  OF  A
 BICYCLE  CONTAINED  IN  THIS  CHAPTER. IN ADDITION, AN ELECTRIC ASSISTED
 BICYCLE IS SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING REQUIREMENTS:
   (A) EVERY MANUFACTURER OF AN ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICYCLE  SHALL  CERTIFY
 THAT  IT  COMPLIES WITH THE EQUIPMENT AND MANUFACTURING REQUIREMENTS FOR
 BICYCLES ADOPTED BY THE UNITED STATES CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
 (16 C.F.R. 1512.1, ET SEQ.).
   (B) AN ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICYCLE SHALL OPERATE IN A MANNER SO THAT THE
 ELECTRIC MOTOR IS DISENGAGED OR CEASES TO FUNCTION WHEN THE  BRAKES  ARE
 APPLIED, OR OPERATE IN A MANNER SUCH THAT THE MOTOR IS ENGAGED THROUGH A
 SWITCH  OR  MECHANISM THAT, WHEN RELEASED, WILL CAUSE THE ELECTRIC MOTOR
 TO DISENGAGE OR CEASE TO FUNCTION.
   (C) ON AND AFTER JANUARY FIRST, TWO THOUSAND  EIGHTEEN,  MANUFACTURERS
 AND  DISTRIBUTORS OF ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICYCLES SHALL APPLY A LABEL THAT
 IS PERMANENTLY AFFIXED,  IN  A  PROMINENT  LOCATION,  TO  EACH  ELECTRIC
 ASSISTED BICYCLE. THE LABEL SHALL CONTAIN THE CLASSIFICATION NUMBER, TOP
 ASSISTED  SPEED, AND MOTOR WATTAGE OF THE ELECTRIC ASSISTED BICYCLE, AND
 SHALL BE PRINTED IN ARIAL FONT IN AT LEAST NINE-POINT TYPE.
   (D) A PERSON SHALL NOT TAMPER WITH  OR  MODIFY  AN  ELECTRIC  ASSISTED
 BICYCLE  SO  AS  TO CHANGE THE SPEED CAPABILITY OF THE ELECTRIC ASSISTED
 BICYCLE, UNLESS HE OR SHE APPROPRIATELY REPLACES  THE  LABEL  INDICATING
 THE  CLASSIFICATION REQUIRED IN PARAGRAPH (C) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS
 SECTION.
   2. THE FAILURE OF ANY PERSON TO COMPLY WITH  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  THIS
 SECTION  SHALL  NOT  CONSTITUTE CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE OR ASSUMPTION OF

 A. 7059                             3
 
 RISK, AND SHALL NOT IN ANY WAY BAR, PRECLUDE OR FORECLOSE AN ACTION  FOR
 PERSONAL INJURY OR WRONGFUL DEATH BY OR ON BEHALF OF SUCH PERSON, NOR IN
 ANY WAY DIMINISH OR REDUCE THE DAMAGES RECOVERABLE IN ANY SUCH ACTION.
   §  6. Section 316 of the highway law, as amended by chapter 655 of the
 laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
   § 316. Entitled to free use of highways. The authorities having charge
 or control of any highway, public street, park,  parkway,  driveway,  or
 place, shall have no power or authority to pass, enforce or maintain any
 ordinance, rule or regulation by which any person using a bicycle, ELEC-
 TRIC  ASSISTED  BICYCLE or tricycle shall be excluded or prohibited from
 the free use of any highway, public street, avenue,  roadway,  driveway,
 parkway,  park,  or place, at any time when the same is open to the free
 use of persons having and using other pleasure  carriages,  except  upon
 such  driveway,  speedway  or  road  as has been or may be expressly set
 apart by law for the exclusive use of horses and  light  carriages.  But
 nothing  herein shall prevent the passage, enforcement or maintenance of
 any regulation, ordinance or rule, regulating the use of bicycles, ELEC-
 TRIC ASSISTED BICYCLES or tricycles in highways, public streets,  drive-
 ways,  parks,  parkways,  and  places, or the regulation of the speed of
 carriages, vehicles or engines, in public parks and  upon  parkways  and
 driveways  in the city of New York, under the exclusive jurisdiction and
 control of the department of parks and  recreation  of  said  city,  nor
 prevent any such authorities in any other city from regulating the speed
 of  any  vehicles herein described in such manner as to limit and deter-
 mine the proper rate of speed with which such vehicle may  be  propelled
 nor  in  such manner as to require, direct or prohibit the use of bells,
 lamps and other appurtenances nor to prohibit the  use  of  any  vehicle
 upon  that part of the highway, street, park, or parkway, commonly known
 as the footpath or sidewalk.
   § 7. Section 180 of the general municipal law, as amended  by  chapter
 668 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
   § 180. Ordinances to regulate use of bicycles. The governing boards of
 municipal  corporations  as  defined in section two of this chapter, may
 adopt local laws to regulate the use of bicycles on the public highways,
 streets, avenues, walks, parks and public places  within  their  limits.
 Such  local laws shall be supplemental and in addition to the provisions
 of the vehicle and traffic law relating to vehicles and not in  conflict
 therewith.  Provided  further  that such local laws shall not impose any
 charge, tax or otherwise not provide for the free use of bicycles, ELEC-
 TRIC ASSISTED BICYCLES and tricycles.
   § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.