North Carolina 2019-2020 Session Status: In Committee 2 D cosponsors

SB 620 — Electric Standup Scooters.

Last action — Reptd Fav Com Substitute

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2019-2020 Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

25 added · 104 removed

Plain-language change summary

The updated version of SB 620 includes a new section that mandates a study on the regulation of electric standup scooters in North Carolina. This study will assess current laws affecting scooter operation and the challenges faced by local governments in managing these vehicles and shared scooter services. This change is important because it aims to create a clearer regulatory framework for electric scooters, ensuring safer operation on public roads and sidewalks, while also addressing local government concerns.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2019 S 1 SENATE BILL 620 Short Title:
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2019 S 2 SENATE BILL 620 Transportation Committee Substitute Adopted 7/10/19 Short Title:
Senators McKissick and Newton (Primary Sponsors).
Rules and Operations of the Senate April 4, 2019 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO DEFINE AND AUTHORIZE THE USE OF ELECTRIC STANDUP SCOOTERS.
April 4, 2019 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO DEFINE AND AUTHORIZE THE USE OF ELECTRIC STANDUP SCOOTERS.
… *S620-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019 (49) Vehicle.
… *S620-v-2* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019 (49) Vehicle.
20-4.01(7c)." SECTION 4.
20-4.01(7c)." SECTION 4.(a) The Legislative Research Commission (LRC) shall study the regulation of electric standup scooters in the State.
Article 3 of Chapter 20 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:
As part of its study, the LRC shall do all of the following:
"Part 11D.
(1) Examine current State and local laws and regulations that affect the operation of electric standup scooters on highways, sidewalks, and other public ways.
Electric Standup Scooters.
(2) Examine current State and local laws and regulations that affect the operation of businesses that offer shared scooters for hire to the public.
"§ 20-175.7.
(3) Examine the challenges facing local governments with respect to regulating the operation of scooters and the operation of scooter share businesses, including issues of law enforcement authority, the extent of local regulatory authority, and data sharing.
Definitions.
(4) Consideranyproposedlegislativechangesneededtomoreeffectivelyregulate the operation of scooters and the operation of scooter share businesses in the State.
The following definitions apply in this Part:
(5) Consider any other matters the LRC deems relevant.
(1) Electric standup scooter.
SECTION 4.(b) The LRC shall report its findings, together with any proposed legislation, to the 2020 Regular Session of the 2019 General Assembly upon its convening.
– As defined in G.S.
SECTION 5.
20-4.01(7c).
(2) Scooter-share operator.
– A person offering shared scooters for hire.
All scooter-share operators must carry insurance coverage dedicated exclusively for operation of shared scooters that meets all of the following requirements:
a.
Commercial general liabilityinsurancecoveragewithalimit ofnoless than one million dollars ($1,000,000) each occurrence and five million dollars ($5,000,000) aggregate.
b.
Automobileinsurancecoverage with alimit ofnoless thanonemillion dollars ($1,000,000) each occurrence and one million dollars ($1,000,000) aggregate.
c.
Umbrella or excess liability coverage with a limit of no less than five million dollars ($5,000,000) each occurrence and five million dollars ($5,000,000) aggregate.
d.
If the scooter-share operator employs persons, workers' compensation coverage of no less than what is required by applicable law.
(3) Scooter-share program.
– The offering of shared scooters for hire.
Page 2 Senate Bill 620-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019 (4) Shared scooter.
– An electric standup scooter offered for hire.
All shared scooters must meet all of the following requirements to be offered for hire:
a.
Bear a single, unique alphanumeric identification, visible from a distance of five feet, which shall not be obfuscated by branding or other markings, and which shall be used throughout the State, including by local authorities, to identify the shared scooter.
b.
Havealockingmechanismtoenabletheusertolockthesharedscooter to a stationary physical object such as a bike rack.
(5) Trip data.
– Any data elements related to trips taken by users of a shared scooter of a scooter-share operator, including, but not limited to, Global Positioning System, timestamp, or route data.
"§ 20-175.7.
Operation of electric standup scooters.
(a) Rights and Duties.
– An electric standup scooter is subject to all provisions of this Chapter applicable to bicycles, except as otherwise provided in this section.
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An operator of an electric standup scooter is subject to all the rights and duties of a rider of a bicycle.
(b) Parking.
– An electric standup scooter may be parked on a sidewalk, provided it does not impede normal and reasonable pedestrian traffic.
(c) Equipment.
– An electric standup scooter must be equipped with a brake and with lamps, as required by G.S.
20-129(e).
(d) Speed.
– An electric standup scooter may not be operated at a speed greater than 15 miles per hour.
(e) Age Restriction.
– An electric standup scooter may not be operated by a person less than 16 years of age.
"§ 20-157.8.
Local regulation.
(a) A local authority may regulate the operation of electric standup scooters in the following ways:
(1) Restrict the maximum speed a person may operate an electric standup scooter in pedestrian zones, such as plazas and promenades.
(2) Assess penalties against operators of electric standup scooters for moving or parking violations, which shall not exceed penalties assessed against riders of bicycles for equivalent violations.
(b) A local authority may regulate scooter-share programs in the following ways:
(1) Require scooter-share operators to pay fees, provided the total amount of fees collected does not exceed the reasonable cost to the local authority of administering scooter-share programs.
(2) Require scooter-share operators to indemnify the local authority for claims, demands, costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, and losses or damages arising out of any negligent act, error, omission, or willful misconduct by the scooter-share operator or its officers or employees, except to the extent the claims, demands, costs, losses, or damages arise out of the local authority's negligence or willful misconduct.
(3) In the interests of safety and right-of-way management, designate locations where scooter-share operators are prohibited from staging shared scooters, provided at least one location is permitted on each side of each city block in commercial zones and business districts.
"§ 20-175.9.
Additional requirements authorized;
scooter-share program to provide data.
As a condition for operating a scooter-share program, a local authority may require a scooter-share operator to provide to the authority trip data for all trips starting or ending within the jurisdiction of the local authority on any shared scooter of the scooter-share operator, provided, to ensure individual privacy, any trip data provided to the authority shall comply with all of the following:
Senate Bill 620-First Edition Page 3 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2019 (1) The trip data is provided via an application programming interface, subject to the scooter-share operator's license agreement for the interface, that is subject to a publicly published privacy policy of the local authority or its designee, as applicable, disclosing what data is collected and how the data is used and shared with any third parties.
(2) The trip data provided is safely and securely stored by the local authority, which shall implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect, secure, and, if appropriate, encrypt or limit access to the trip data.
(3) The trip data provided shall be treated as personal information and trade secret and proprietary business information, shall be exempt from public disclosure pursuant to any public records request, and shall not be treated as owned by the local authority.
The trip data shall not be shared with law enforcement, except pursuant to valid legal process, and shall not be shared to third parties without the scooter-share operator's consent, provided, upon a showing of legitimate and necessary need, a local authority may designate a third party to receive trip data under subdivision (1) of this section if the third party is in privity with the local authority and maintains compliance with this subdivision.
"§ 20-175.10.
Limitations on local regulation.
In regulating shared scooters, a local authority may not impose any unduly restrictive requirement on a scooter-share program, including requiring scooter-share operators to operate below cost or subjecting riders of shared scooters to requirements more restrictive than those applicable to riders of privately-owned electric standup scooters or bicycles." SECTION 5.
Page 4 Senate Bill 620-First Edition
Page 2 Senate Bill 620-Second Edition
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Action History

  1. Reptd Fav Com Substitute

  2. Com Substitute Adopted

  3. Re-ref Com On Commerce and Insurance

  4. Withdrawn From Com

  5. Re-ref to Transportation. If fav, re-ref to Commerce and Insurance. If fav, re-ref to Rules and Operations of the Senate

  6. Passed 1st Reading

  7. Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate

  8. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 5 co-sponsors · 173 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • McKissick

Co-sponsors (5)

Not signed on (173)

173 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

transportation
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Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 620?
SB 620 is sponsored by McKissick, Newton, Nickel, Woodard, Joyce Waddell (Democratic), and Kandie D. Smith (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 620?
This bill died with 2019-2020 Session. It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 620?
Track SB 620 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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