A bill that would regulate electric bicycles in North Carolina and allow local governments to limit where they can be used is moving through the state Senate.
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The Senate Finance Committee voted to advance House Bill 1094, a collection of changes to transportation laws, without debate on Thursday.
The bill defines three classes of e-bikes and clears them for use on roads, bicycle lanes and paths, but says local governments can set limits on where they can be used ”within municipal limits,” a response to growing concern in some cities over the safety of the increasingly popular vehicles.
The measure would also require riders under 18 to wear a helmet when riding the fastest e-bikes, which can travel at up to 28 miles per hour. Local governments could extend that requirement to young riders on less-powerful e-bikes as well.
The bill would also loosen rules for self-driving “personal delivery devices,” essentially delivery robots, that some companies are developing to replace drivers in some cases. The machines could now be larger, travel up to 20 miles per hour instead of 10, and operate in bicycle lanes and on road shoulders. They would no longer be required to have a human operator remotely supervising them at all times.
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The bill would also:
- Allow drivers to renew their licenses at any point during the eight-year renewal cycle, rather than waiting until the six-month window before expiration
- Eliminate the requirement for schools to issue driving eligibility certificates for students seeking learner’s permits and provisional drivers licenses
- Expand payment options for prepaid toll discounts
- Privatize highway exit signs referencing gas stations, restaurants, and lodging, and direct the profits from those signs to the Highway Fund for use for general maintenance
- Raise insurance minimums for taxis conducting business at international airports
- Establish an 80-hour course for commercial truck driver training schools
- Ban the planting of invasive species along state highways and in state parks, with a strong preference for plants native to North Carolina instead
- Require the state Auditor to perform an audit of the state ferry system.
“These provisions have all been worked out with the House and all the supporting agencies, and there’s no opposition,” Sen. Michael Lazzara (R-Onslow) told the Finance committee on Thursday.
H1094 moved rapidly through the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday, signaling lawmakers’ urgency to send it back to the House before session adjourns. It now heads to the Senate Rules Committee and could receive a vote on the Senate floor next week.
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