After Key Biscayne woman dies in crash, effort to let cities limit e-bikes likely has failed
TALLAHASSEE
A legislative push that would have given local governments more power to regulate electric bicycles and scooters appears dead for the legislative session, but the lawmaker who led the issue says she will try again next year.
The proposal was introduced in the Legislature after a Key Biscayne woman on a bike died in a head-on collision with a 12-year-old boy riding an electric bicycle on Valentine’s Day. The death of Megan Andrews, 66, revived longstanding concerns from many who worried about pedestrian safety amid the rising popularity of e-bikes.
“I hoped that my immediate efforts in response to the terrible tragedy on February 14, which resulted in the untimely death of Megan Andrews, would give much needed authority to the Village to enact an ordinance,” said state Rep. Vicki Lopez, who pushed to include the proposal in a transportation bill in the House.
“Unfortunately, despite all efforts to do so, this will not be the case,” the Miami Republican told the Herald/Times on Tuesday evening.
The proposal would have given local governments the ability to require one or more minimum-age requirements for the use of electric bicycles and mandate government–issued photo identification cards for riders.
Florida law currently requires local governments to regulate electric bicycles — which also can be operated without motors — the same way as normal bikes. In Key Biscayne, local officials said the state law as written prevented them from restricting the use of ebikes based on age without also affecting the use of regular bicycles.
“We have tried to address these issues at the state level, but we have not been successful,” Key Biscayne Village Attorney Chad Friedman said at an emergency meeting last month following Andrews’ death. “The state has preempted us. Our hands are tied in a lot of different ways when it comes to the regulation of these vehicles.”
At the meeting, Key
Biscayne officials voted to ban electric bikes and electric scooters from the island for 60 days as they figured out what to do next. Other Florida communities — including St. Petersburg, St. Pete Beach and Madeira Beach — have passed ordinances that require people to be at least 16 years old to ride an electric bicycle, a step that village leaders have not taken out of concern for what state law allows them to do.
It is unclear what the village intends to do now that state lawmakers are unlikely to give them the power to enact stricter local rules based on age and other requirements.
Lopez said she plans to help the village on what to do next.
“I am committed to working with the Village in the next legislative session to address several issues that will ensure the safety of pedestrians and bicycle riders alike,” she said.
On Wednesday, Village Manager Steve Williamson said the plan is to keep working to “find and put in place the best rules regarding motorized scooters and electric bikes to ensure a safe environment in the village.”
Rick Martinez, a Key Biscayne resident who is part of a group that has reached out to the council about regulating the devices, said he emailed the council last week, telling council members that they could put regulations in place the way other municipalities have in recent years under current state law. He said council members could have asked for an opinion from Florida’s attorney general before the tragedy on Valentine’s Day.
“We’ve been reactive instead of proactive,” Martinez said.
Martinez said there should be an age requirement of at least 16 to ride the electronic devices and that the municipality should ban certain classes that go over a certain speed.
WHY DID THE EFFORT STALL?
It is difficult to pinpoint exactly which policy issue caused the bill to stall in the Legislature. The
House bill was 60 pages long and included a myriad of policy issues related to transportation. The e-bike issue was tucked into the proposed measure.
The proposed legislation was unanimously approved by the Florida House on Friday.
Sen. Joe Gruters, who was carrying the issue in the Senate, told the Herald/Times on Tuesday the bill was likely dead in the chamber.
“I don’t think it’s going to make it,” he said.
State Rep. Fiona McFarland, a Sarasota Republican who sponsored the House bill, also confirmed the effort was likely dead.
Lopez said she was “most disappointed and frustrated” with the Senate’s decision to not consider the House bill. But vowed to continue the fight next year.
“These devices are becoming a public nuisance as more and more people purchase them for personal use,” she said. “We must be committed to finding local and state solutions to ensure no one else dies or is seriously injured.”