Press Release: Governor Newsom Signs SB 1167 to Protect E-Bike Consumers
Governor Newsom Signs SB 1167 to Protect E-Bike Consumers
CalBike-co-sponsored law draws a clear line between legal e-bikes and high-powered electric devices marketed as e-bikes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SACRAMENTO — The California Bicycle Coalition today celebrated Governor Gavin Newsom’s signing of SB 1167, authored by Senator Catherine Blakespear and co-sponsored by CalBike, PeopleForBikes, Streets Are For Everyone, and Streets For All. The new law strengthens consumer protections by clarifying what can legally be sold and marketed as an electric bicycle in California. It protects legitimate Class 1, 2, and 3 e-bikes while requiring high-powered electric devices outside those definitions to be accurately identified and disclosed to consumers.
E-bikes are helping Californians get to work, take children to school, and replace everyday car trips. But a rapidly changing electric mobility market has made it harder for consumers to distinguish legal e-bikes from devices that exceed California’s power and speed limits.
“Parents should be able to shop for an e-bike without having to investigate whether the product lives up to its description,” said Kendra Ramsey, Executive Director of CalBike. “When high-powered devices are sold as e-bikes, families can end up buying something very different from what they intended. SB 1167 puts responsibility on sellers to represent their products honestly and helps protect public confidence in legal e-bikes.”
The confusion resulting from lagging marketplace regulation has had real world consequences for safety on California streets. Families may purchase a device believing it can be used wherever bicycles are allowed, only to discover that it falls outside California’s e-bike rules. Misleading marketing also complicates efforts to understand safety concerns and develop policies that address the devices involved.
SB 1167 addresses these problems by:
- Protecting California’s legal e-bike definitions, including established power and speed limits for Class 1, 2, and 3 e-bikes.
- Strengthening truthful marketing requirements so devices outside the legal definition cannot be advertised, labeled, or sold as e-bikes.
- Improving labeling and disclosures so consumers have clearer information about what they are purchasing.
- Strengthening battery and electrical safety requirements for high-powered electric devices.
- Improving crash and injury data by requiring incident reports to record available classification and labeling information.
CalBike thanks Senator Blakespear for her leadership, its fellow co-sponsors for their partnership, and Governor Newsom for signing these consumer protections into law.
About the California Bicycle Coalition
The California Bicycle Coalition advocates for equitable, inclusive, and prosperous communities where bicycling helps enable all Californians to lead healthy and joyful lives.
