05/05/2021 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

                HB 87-ELECTRIC-ASSISTED BICYCLES                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:46:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the  final order of business would be                                                               
HOUSE  BILL  NO.  87,  "An   Act  relating  to  electric-assisted                                                               
bicycles."                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:47:16 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ASHLEY  CARRICK, Staff,  Representative Adam  Wool, Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature,  on  behalf  of prime  sponsor,  answered  questions                                                               
during the hearing on HB 87.   She referred to questions that the                                                               
committee  had requested  follow up  on pertaining  to HB  87 and                                                               
recommended that Legislative Legal  and Research Services provide                                                               
answers  to those.   She  referred first  to questions  that were                                                               
posed on  Section 2 of  the bill which pertained  to municipality                                                               
regulations for e-bikes used on sidewalks.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN stated that the  question pertaining to Section 2 of                                                               
the  bill was  whether  municipalities would  be prohibited  from                                                               
regulating the use of e-bikes on sidewalks, should HB 87 pass.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:48:43 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ANDREW   DUNMIRE,  Attorney,   Legislative  Legal   and  Research                                                               
Services,  Alaska State  Legislature,  answered questions  during                                                               
the  hearing on  HB  87.   He  opined that,  should  HB 87  pass,                                                               
municipalities would not  be restricted in regulating  the use of                                                               
e-bikes on  their own pathways.   He referenced Section 3  of the                                                               
bill  that specifies  that municipalities  may enact  regulations                                                               
for e-bikes for their locality.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
2:49:35 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR   CLAMAN   recalled   an    earlier   question   posed   by                                                               
Representative Vance  whether it  would be beneficial  to include                                                               
the three-tiered  classification such as  exists in the  State of                                                               
California.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:50:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  DUNMIRE  stated his  understanding  of  the question  to  be                                                               
whether  an  amendment  classifying  e-bikes  in  a  three-tiered                                                               
structure  would be  beneficial, and  he suggested  that such  an                                                               
amendment  would be  a policy  decision to  be determined  by the                                                               
legislature.   He  suggested that,  should  the legislature  deem                                                               
such   a   classification   system   to   be   unnecessary,   his                                                               
recommendation  would be  not to  include a  definition since  it                                                               
would limit how e-bikes are defined.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:51:14 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  VANCE added  that her  constituents had  endorsed                                                               
including the  three-tiered definition of e-bikes  as proposed by                                                               
the  People  for  Bikes to  achieve  uniformity  among  different                                                               
states' regulations.  She suggested  that the question of whether                                                               
to  amend the  bill  to include  the three-tiered  classification                                                               
should be at the discretion of  the bill sponsor, and she offered                                                               
her understanding  that including  a three-tiered  definition may                                                               
not provide any legal benefit.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:51:48 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ADAM WOOL,  Alaska  State  Legislature, as  prime                                                               
sponsor,  answered questions  during the  hearing on  HB 87.   He                                                               
offered additional  information to describe the  various types of                                                               
vehicles  and assisted  bicycles.   He  stated  that there  exist                                                               
bikes which  can be operated  by a throttle without  pedaling and                                                               
that those  are not considered  in the  proposed bill.   He added                                                               
that  it  remained  a  policy decision  for  the  legislature  to                                                               
determine  whether  to  include the  three-tiered  classification                                                               
system or to combine class 1 and  class 3 e-bikes.  He added that                                                               
it  would be  difficult to  ascertain  motor size  and whether  a                                                               
pedal assist  to engage a motor  by simply looking at  an e-bike.                                                               
He added  that motor size would  be capped at [a  maximum] of 750                                                               
watts and the speed capped at 20 miles per hour.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:53:56 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR   CLAMAN   recalled   an    earlier   question   posed   by                                                               
Representative  Eastman pertaining  to  vehicles  that have  two,                                                               
non-tandem wheels and how they relate to the proposed bill.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR.  DUNMIRE  explained that  a  Segway,  which consists  of  two                                                               
tandem wheels  on which  a rider balances,  would be  included in                                                               
the definition, and  that a three-wheeled mobility  cart, such as                                                               
one might see at a grocery store, would not.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN stated his  understanding of the intent of                                                               
the bill  would be to allow  devices such as a  Segway be allowed                                                               
to operate on a sidewalk  and asked why [a three-wheeled mobility                                                               
cart,  such as  one  might see  at a  grocery  store] would  not.                                                               
During  the  discussion, he  asked  whether  HB 87  would  forbid                                                               
grocery store scooters from being operated on a sidewalk.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  WOOL  answered  that  HB 87  permits  only  those                                                               
devices which have  operable pedals to be  classified as e-bikes,                                                               
and  that  neither  a  Segway  nor an  assistive  cart  would  be                                                               
classified as  an e-bike [should  HB 87 pass].   He added  that a                                                               
tricycle  with  an  electric  assist might  be  included  in  the                                                               
definition should it have operable pedals.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:56:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR   CLAMAN   recalled   an    earlier   question   posed   by                                                               
Representative   Snyder  in   which   she  referenced   assistive                                                               
technology  as  defined  in  AS   45.45.600  and  whether  HB  87                                                               
pertained to any  of those devices, which she  had suggested that                                                               
it would not.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR.  DUNMIRE  stated  his  belief  that  Representative  Snyder's                                                               
assertion that HB 87 would  not pertain to assistive technologies                                                               
described in the statute was correct.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
2:57:32 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   EASTMAN  suggested   that  replacing   the  word                                                               
"bicycle" with "cycle" would allow  for devices with one to three                                                               
wheels to be  categorized as e-bikes under the  proposed bill and                                                               
would include tricycles and unicycles.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  WOOL  asked  whether Representative  Eastman  had                                                               
suggested that  e-cycle be the referenced  terminology instead of                                                               
e-bikes for  devices with one to  three, but not four,  wheels as                                                               
currently written in  the proposed bill.  He  offered to consider                                                               
the change  to the  language if  there existed  sufficient public                                                               
interest on  the matter,  and if  there existed  many individuals                                                               
operating electric  assisted three-wheeled bikes.   He stated his                                                               
preference to maintain the word "bicycles" in the proposed bill.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
2:59:10 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR CLAMAN asked Ms. Carrick  whether the committee and invited                                                               
testimony had answered all the  questions previously posed by the                                                               
committee.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARRICK  stated her belief that,  for the most part,  it had,                                                               
and  she invited  additional questions  should they  arise.   She                                                               
added that Representative  Kurka had asked whether  gas- or fuel-                                                               
operated motors would be included in the definition of e-bikes.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE WOOL explained  that fuel-driven assisted bicycles                                                               
with an  engine size  of 50  cubic centimeters  (cc) or  less are                                                               
classified as a motor-driven cycle.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:00:19 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. CARRICK  explained that terms  are defined  in the bill.   In                                                               
Section 5,  on page 3, line  22 is the definition  of an electric                                                               
personal motor  vehicle that differentiates between  a Segway and                                                               
a motorized grocery  cart.  She added that in  Section 6, on page                                                               
3,  line 28  motor vehicle  is defined,  and on  page 4,  line 2,                                                               
motor-driven cycle is  referenced.  She explained  that an engine                                                               
which is 50  cubic centimeters (cc) or less would  be covered and                                                               
those greater  than 50  cc would be  classified as  a motorcycle.                                                               
She  pointed  out  that  there  exists  a  difference  between  a                                                               
"motorcycle" and a "motor-driven  cycle" and suggested that there                                                               
exists some confusion between the two.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
[HB 87 was held over.]