NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7889A
SPONSOR: Eachus 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
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 OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Requires batteries for bicycles with electric assist and electric scoot-
ers to be tested and approved by certain testing laboratories.
SUMMARY OF 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.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
The bill was amended to broaden the allowable testing standards on the
recommendation of industry experts to better match regulations enacted
in New York City.
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 some-
one is using a cheap or faulty battery, the risk of overheating and
starting a fire increases. The Underwriters Laboratories is a
"Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory", 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 organiza-
tion, this has the potential to reduce the number of damaging and deadly
fires that were started due to electric vehicle charging.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7889--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
July 19, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. EACHUS, GUNTHER, COLTON, JACOBSON, SAYEGH, McDO-
NOUGH, GRAY, DeSTEFANO, CHANG, ZINERMAN, GALLAGHER, SHIMSKY, LUCAS,
SIMONE, TAYLOR, ARDILA, BENEDETTO, K. BROWN, BLUMENCRANZ, BEEPHAN,
LEMONDES, HYNDMAN, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, LEVENBERG, DAVILA, ZEBROWSKI --
read once and referred to the Committee on Transportation -- recommit-
ted to the Committee on Transportation in accordance with Assembly
Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
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:
1 Section 1. Section 1242 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by
2 adding a new subdivision 14 to read as follows:
3 14. Every bicycle with electric assist shall be equipped with a
4 battery that has been tested and approved by and that contains the seal
5 of the Underwriters Laboratories, or any testing laboratory that is an
6 International Organization for Standardization and International Elec-
7 trotechnical Commission ("ISO/IEC") 17025 Accredited Independent Testing
8 Laboratory, an ISO/IEC 17065 Accredited Certifying Body, or participates
9 in the United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health
10 Administration Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory ("NRTL")
11 program.
12 § 2. Section 1285 of the vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding
13 a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
14 4. Every electric scooter shall be equipped with a battery that has
15 been tested and approved by and that contains the seal of the Underwrit-
16 ers Laboratories, or any testing laboratory that is an International
17 Organization for Standardization and International Electrotechnical
18 Commission ("ISO/IEC") 17025 Accredited Independent Testing Laboratory,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11855-02-4
A. 7889--A 2
1 an ISO/IEC 17065 Accredited Certifying Body, or participates in the
2 United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Admin-
3 istration Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory ("NRTL") program.
4 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
