Electric Scooter Regulation Bill Unanimously Passes Senate Committee

April 12, 2019

Denver, CO – The Senate Transportation and Energy Committee yesterday voted unanimously to pass HB19-1221, a bill sponsored by Senator Jeff Bridges (D-Greenwood Village) and Senator Brittany Pettersen (D-Lakewood) to strengthen regulations for electric scooters. This bill now moves to the Committee of the Whole for consideration.

“More people are using electric scooters to get where they need to go, which is great for traffic and our environment,” said Senator Bridges. “However, we need to update our laws so that roads and sidewalks are safe for both riders and pedestrians. We need to get these scooters off our sidewalks, and that’s exactly what this bill does.”

“Scooters are vehicles, not toys, and if we’re going to keep our roads safe, we need to make sure we’re treating them as such so that we are able to protect everyone’s safety,” said Senator Pettersen. “But we should also encourage their use and make sure that we are considering them as we develop a long-term transportation strategy.”  

This bill upgrades electric scooters from their current definition as toys to vehicles, authorizing their use on roadways and giving riders the same rights and duties as those with other electric-assisted vehicles.

For more information on this legislation, please visit https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb19-1221.

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