NY State Senate Bill 2025-S4688

Senate Bill S4688

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires batteries for bicycles with electric assist and electric scooters to be tested and approved by certain testing laboratories

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 11, 2025	referred to transportation

2025-S4688 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A239
Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§1242 & 1285, V & T L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S7745, A7889

2025-S4688 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires batteries for bicycles with electric assist and electric scooters to be tested and approved by certain testing laboratories.

2025-S4688 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4688

SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring
batteries for bicycles with electric assist and electric scooters to be
tested and approved by certain testing laboratories

 
PURPOSE:

Requires batteries for bicycles with electric assist and electric scoot-
ers to be tested and approved by and contain the seal of the Underwrit-
ers Laboratories.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 1242 of the vehicle and traffic law, requiring
that every e-bike and e-scooter shall be equipped with a battery that
has been tested and approved by and that contains the seal of the Under-
writers Laboratories, any testing laboratories that is an International
Organization for Standardization and International Electrotechnical

Commission Accredited Independent Testing Laboratory, or participates in
the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health
Administration Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory.

Section 2 amends section 1285 of the vehicle and traffic law to requir-
ing every e-bike and e-scooter shall be equipped with a battery that has
been tested and approved by and that contains the seal of the same
organizations as mentioned above.

Section 3 sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

There has been significant news coverage in recent years regarding fires
that were started due to an e-bike or an electric scooter overheating
during the charging process.

Most of these vehicles use lithium-ion batteries, which are prone to
overheating due to their density. If someone is using a cheap or faulty
battery, the risk of overheating and starting a fire increases.

The Underwriters Laboratories is a "Nationally Recognized Testing Labo-
ratory", as determined by OSHA. They are experts in testing and ensuring
the safety of battery devices. By ensuring that batteries are thoroughly
tested by an accredited organization, this has the potential to reduce
the number of damaging and deadly fires that were started due to elec-
tric vehicle charging.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S4688 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4688
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 11, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in  relation  to  requiring
   batteries  for  bicycles with electric assist and electric scooters to
   be tested and approved by certain testing laboratories

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 1242 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by
 adding a new subdivision 14 to read as follows:
   14. EVERY BICYCLE WITH  ELECTRIC  ASSIST  SHALL  BE  EQUIPPED  WITH  A
 BATTERY  THAT HAS BEEN TESTED AND APPROVED BY AND THAT CONTAINS THE SEAL
 OF THE UNDERWRITERS LABORATORIES, OR ANY TESTING LABORATORY THAT  IS  AN
 INTERNATIONAL  ORGANIZATION  FOR STANDARDIZATION AND INTERNATIONAL ELEC-
 TROTECHNICAL COMMISSION ("ISO/IEC") 17025 ACCREDITED INDEPENDENT TESTING
 LABORATORY, AN ISO/IEC 17065 ACCREDITED CERTIFYING BODY, OR PARTICIPATES
 IN THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND  HEALTH
 ADMINISTRATION   NATIONALLY   RECOGNIZED   TESTING  LABORATORY  ("NRTL")
 PROGRAM.
   § 2. Section 1285 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by  adding
 a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
   4.  EVERY  ELECTRIC  SCOOTER SHALL BE EQUIPPED WITH A BATTERY THAT HAS
 BEEN TESTED AND APPROVED BY AND THAT CONTAINS THE SEAL OF THE UNDERWRIT-
 ERS LABORATORIES, OR ANY TESTING LABORATORY  THAT  IS  AN  INTERNATIONAL
 ORGANIZATION  FOR  STANDARDIZATION  AND  INTERNATIONAL  ELECTROTECHNICAL
 COMMISSION ("ISO/IEC") 17025 ACCREDITED INDEPENDENT TESTING  LABORATORY,
 AN  ISO/IEC  17065  ACCREDITED  CERTIFYING  BODY, OR PARTICIPATES IN THE
 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH  ADMIN-
 ISTRATION NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED TESTING LABORATORY ("NRTL") PROGRAM.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01492-01-5

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