Amended in Assembly April 20, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 604

Introduced by Assembly Member Olsen

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Baker, Calderon, Cristina Garcia, Linder, Melendez, Mark Stone, and Waldron)

February 24, 2015

An act to amend begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections 21113, 21967, and end insert 21968 of, begin insert and end insert to add Section 313.5 to, begin delete and to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 21290) to Chapter 1 of Division 11 of, end delete the Vehicle Code, relating to vehicles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 604, as amended, Olsen. Electrically motorized skateboards.

Existing law regulates the operation of bicycles, motorized scooters, and electric personal assistive mobility devices, as defined.

This bill would define the term “electrically motorized begin delete skateboard” and would provide that those devices are subject to the provisions of law applicable to a driver of a vehicle, except as specified. By making the operation of an electrically motorized skateboard subject to existing laws, the violation of which are offenses, this bill would expand the scope of existing crimes, and impose a state-mandated local program. end delete begin insert skateboard.” end insert

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The bill would make it an infraction for a person to operate an electrically motorized skateboard upon a highway while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or any drug, or under the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage and any drug. The bill would, subject to restrictions, authorize the operation of electrically motorized skateboards on highways, bikeways, and sidewalks, would require an operator under 18 years of age to wear a helmet, and would require an operator to be at least 12 years of age in order to operate an electrically motorized skateboard on a highway or bikeway. The bill would prohibit the operation of an electrically motorized skateboard at a speed in excess of 20 miles per hour. The bill would require specified braking and lighting equipment for the operation of an electrically motorized skateboard. A violation of these provisions would be an infraction under existing law. By creating a new infraction and expanding the scope of existing crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

end delete begin insert

Existing law authorizes transit development boards and public agencies, including, but not limited to, the Regents of the University of California and the Trustees of the California State University, to adopt ordinances, rules, or regulations, respectively, to restrict, or specify the conditions for, the use of bicycles, motorized bicycles, skateboards, and roller skates on property under the control of, or any portion of property used by, the board, or on public property under the jurisdiction of the agency, respectively.

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This bill would additionally authorize those boards and agencies to adopt ordinances, rules, and regulations, respectively, for the use of electrically motorized skateboards.

end insert begin insert

Existing law authorizes local authorities to adopt rules and regulations by ordinance or resolution prohibiting or restricting persons from riding or propelling skateboards on highways, sidewalks, or roadways.

end insert begin insert

This bill would additionally authorize local authorities to adopt rules and regulations by ordinance or resolution prohibiting or restricting persons from riding or propelling electrically motorized skateboards on highways, sidewalks, or roadways.

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Existing law makes it a crime to operate a motorized skateboard on any sidewalk, roadway, or any other part of a highway or on any bikeway, bicycle path or trail, equestrian trail, or hiking or recreational trail.

This bill would provide that an electrically motorized skateboard is not a motorized skateboard for those purposes.

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The bill would state findings and declarations of the Legislature relative to electrically motorized skateboards.

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 313.5 is added to the Vehicle Code, to
read:

313.5.  

(a) An “electrically motorized skateboard” is any
four-wheeled device that has a floorboard designed to be stood
upon when riding that is not greater than 60 inches deep and 18
inches wide, is designed to transport only one person, and has an
electric propulsion system averaging less than 1000 watts, the
maximum speed of which, when powered solely by a propulsion
system on a paved level surface, is no more than 20 miles per hour.
The device may be designed to also be powered by human
propulsion.

(b) An electrically motorized skateboard does not include an
electric personal assistive mobility device, as defined in Section
313, a motorcycle, as defined in Section 400, a motor-driven cycle,
as defined in Section 405, a motorized bicycle or moped, as defined
in Section 406, or a motorized scooter, as defined in Section 407.5.

begin delete

SEC. 2.  

Article 7 (commencing with Section 21290) is added
to Chapter 1 of Division 11 of the Vehicle Code, to read:

 

Article 7.  Operation of Electrically Motorized Skateboards

 

21290.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) This state has severe traffic congestion and air pollution
problems, particularly in its cities, and finding ways to reduce
these problems is of paramount importance.

(2) Reducing the millions of single passenger automobile trips
of five miles or less that Californians take each year will
significantly reduce the pollution caused by fuel emissions and
aggravated by automobile congestion.

(3) Electrically motorized skateboards enable California
businesses, public officials, and individuals to travel farther and
carry more without the use of traditional vehicles, thereby
promoting gains in productivity, minimizing environmental
impacts, and facilitating better use of public ways.

(b) The Legislature is enacting this article as part of its program
to promote the use of zero-emission transportation.

21292.  

For purposes of this article, an electrically motorized
skateboard is defined in Section 313.5.

21294.  

A person operating an electrically motorized skateboard
upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions
applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this division, including, but
not limited to, provisions concerning driving under the influence
of alcoholic beverages or drugs, and by Division 10 (commencing
with Section 20000), Division 17 (commencing with Section
40000.1), and Division 18 (commencing with Section 42000),
except those provisions which, by their very nature, can have no
application.

21296.  

(a) Notwithstanding Section 21294, it is unlawful for
a person to operate an electrically motorized skateboard upon a
highway while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage or any
drug, or under the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage
and any drug.

(b) A person arrested for a violation of this section may request
to have a chemical test made of the person’s blood or breath for
the purpose of determining the alcoholic or drug content of that
person’s blood pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 23612, and,
if so requested, the arresting officer shall have the test performed.

(c)  A conviction of a violation of this section shall be punished
by a fine of not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250).

21298.  

Notwithstanding any other law, an electrically
motorized skateboard may be operated on a bikeway, unless the
local authority or the governing body of a local agency having
jurisdiction over that bikeway prohibits that operation by ordinance.

21300.  

(a) Whenever a Class II or Class IV bikeway has been
established on a roadway, a person operating an electrically
motorized skateboard upon the roadway shall ride within the
bikeway, except that the person may move out of the bikeway
under any of the following situations:

(1) When overtaking and passing another vehicle or pedestrian
within the bikeway or when about to enter the bikeway if the
overtaking and passing cannot be done safely within the bikeway.

(2) When preparing for a left turn, the operator shall stop and
dismount as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or right
edge of the roadway and complete the turn by crossing the roadway
on foot, subject to the restrictions placed on pedestrians in Chapter
5 (commencing with Section 21949).

(3) When reasonably necessary to leave the bikeway to avoid
debris or other hazardous conditions.

(4) When approaching a place where a right turn is authorized.

(b) A person operating an electrically motorized skateboard
shall not leave a bicycle lane until the movement can be made with
reasonable safety, and then only after giving an appropriate signal
in the manner provided in Chapter 6 (commencing with Section
22100) if a vehicle may be affected by the movement.

21302.  

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a person
operating an electrically motorized skateboard upon a highway at
a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same
direction at that time shall ride as close as practicable to the
right-hand curb or right edge of the roadway, except under the
following situations:

(1) When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding
in the same direction.

(2) When preparing for a left turn, the operator shall stop and
dismount as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or right
edge of the roadway and complete the turn by crossing the roadway
on foot, subject to the restrictions placed on pedestrians in Chapter
5 (commencing with Section 21949).

(3) (A) When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions,
including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, vehicles,
bicycles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard
width lanes, which make it unsafe to continue along the right-hand
curb or right edge of the roadway, subject to Section 21656.

(B) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a “substandard width
lane” is a lane that is too narrow for an electrically motorized
skateboard and another vehicle to travel safely side by side within
the lane.

(b) A person operating an electrically motorized skateboard
upon a highway that carries traffic in one direction only and has
two or more marked traffic lanes may operate the electrically
motorized skateboard as near the left-hand curb or left edge of that
roadway as practicable. However, when preparing for a right turn,
the operator shall stop and dismount as close as practicable to the
left-hand curb or left edge of the highway and complete the turn
by crossing the roadway on foot, subject to the restrictions placed
on pedestrians in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 21949).

21304.  

The operator of an electrically motorized skateboard
shall not do any of the following:

(a) Operate an electrically motorized skateboard unless it is
equipped with a brake or braking function that will enable the
operator to make a braked wheel skid on dry, level, clean pavement.

(b) Operate an electrically motorized skateboard on a highway
with a speed limit in excess of 25 miles per hour unless the
electrically motorized skateboard is operated within a Class II or
Class IV bikeway.

(c) Operate an electrically motorized skateboard without wearing
a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet that meets the
standards described in Section 21212, if the operator is under 18
years of age.

(d) Operate an electrically motorized skateboard with any
passengers in addition to the operator.

(e) Operate an electrically motorized skateboard upon a sidewalk
at a speed in excess of five miles per hour or the pace of pedestrian
traffic, whichever is slower, except as may be necessary to enter
or leave adjacent property.

(f) Leave or park an electrically motorized skateboard on any
sidewalk, in any position, so that there is not an adequate path for
pedestrian traffic.

(g) Attach the electrically motorized skateboard or operator,
while on the roadway, by any means, to any other vehicle on the
roadway.

(h) Operate an electrically motorized skateboard on a highway
or bikeway if the operator is under 12 years of age.

(i) Operate an electrically motorized skateboard at a speed in
excess of 20 miles per hour.

21306.  

An electrically motorized skateboard operated upon a
highway or bikeway during darkness shall be equipped with the
following:

(a) A lamp or lamp combination, emitting a white light, attached
to either the electrically motorized skateboard or the operator and
visible from a distance of 300 feet in front and from the sides of
the electrically motorized skateboard.

(b) Either a red reflector, or reflectorized material meeting the
requirements of Section 25500, attached to the operator, or a lamp
or lamp combination, emitting red light attached to the electrically
motorized skateboard, and visible from a distance of 500 feet to
the rear when directly in front of lawful upper beams of headlamps
on a motor vehicle.

21308.  

(a) A person operating an electrically motorized
skateboard is not subject to the provisions of this code relating to
financial responsibility, registration, and license plate requirements,
and, for those purposes, an electrically motorized skateboard is
not a motor vehicle.

(b) An electrically motorized skateboard is exempt from the
equipment requirements in Division 12 (commencing with Section
24000), except for Sections 24003 and 27400, Article 4
(commencing with Section 27450) of Chapter 5 of Division 12,
and Section 27602.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), an electrically motorized
skateboard may be equipped with equipment authorized by
Division 12 (commencing with Section 24000).

(d) An electrically motorized skateboard equipped with lighting
equipment that is authorized by Division 12 (commencing with
Section 24000) shall meet the lighting requirements in Article 1
(commencing with Section 24250) of Chapter 2 of Division 12 for
that equipment.

21310.  

This article does not prevent a local authority, by
ordinance, from regulating the registration of electrically motorized
skateboards and the parking and operation of electrically motorized
skateboards on pedestrian or bicycle facilities and local streets and
highways, if that regulation is not in conflict with this code.

21312.  

If the operator of an electrically motorized skateboard
is injured or causes injury to another person or property, arising
out of the operator’s failure to adhere to the limitations and
restrictions included in this article, the local government authority
having jurisdiction over the street where the injury occurred shall
be immune from liability for the injury, except as otherwise
provided by law.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert Section 21113 of the end insert begin insert Vehicle Code end insert begin insert is amended to read: end insert

21113.  

(a) A person shall not drive a vehicle or animal, or
stop, park, or leave standing a vehicle or animal, whether attended
or unattended, upon the driveways, paths, parking facilities, or the
grounds of any public school, state university, state college, unit
of the state park system, county park, municipal airport, rapid
transit district, transit development board, transit district, public
transportation agency, county transportation commission created
pursuant to Section 130050 of the Public Utilities Code, joint
powers agency operating or managing a commuter rail system, or
any property under the direct control of the legislative body of a
municipality, or a state, county, or hospital district institution or
building, or an educational institution exempted, in whole or in
part, from taxation, or any harbor improvement district or harbor
district formed pursuant to Part 2 (commencing with Section 5800)
or Part 3 (commencing with Section 6000) of Division 8 of the
Harbors and Navigation Code, a district organized pursuant to Part
3 (commencing with Section 27000) of Division 16 of the Streets
and Highways Code, or state grounds served by the Department
of the California Highway Patrol, or any property under the
possession or control of a housing authority formed pursuant to
Article 2 (commencing with Section 34240) of Chapter 1 of Part
2 of Division 24 of the Health and Safety Code, except with the
permission of, and upon and subject to any condition or regulation
that may be imposed by, the legislative body of the municipality,
or the governing board or officer of the public school, state
university, state college, county park, municipal airport, rapid
transit district, transit development board, transit district, public
transportation agency, county transportation commission, joint
powers agency operating or managing a commuter rail system, or
state, county, or hospital district institution or building, or
educational institution, or harbor district, or a district organized
pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 27000) of Division
16 of the Streets and Highways Code, or housing authority, or the
Director of Parks and Recreation regarding units of the state park
system or the state agency with jurisdiction over the grounds served
by the Department of the California Highway Patrol.

(b) A governing board, legislative body, or officer shall erect
or place appropriate signs giving notice of any special conditions
or regulations that are imposed under this section and the governing
board, legislative body, or officer shall also prepare and keep
available at the principal administrative office of the governing
board, legislative body, or officer, for examination by all interested
persons, a written statement of all those special conditions and
regulations adopted pursuant to this section.

(c) When a governing board, legislative body, or officer permits
public traffic upon the driveways, paths, parking facilities, or
grounds under their control then, except for those conditions
imposed or regulations enacted by the governing board, legislative
body, or officer applicable to the traffic, all the provisions of this
code relating to traffic upon the highways shall be applicable to
the traffic upon the driveways, paths, parking facilities, or grounds.

(d) A public transportation agency that imposes any condition
or regulation upon a person who parks or leaves standing a vehicle,
pursuant to subdivision (a), is authorized to do either of the
following:

(1) Enforce that condition or regulation in the manner provided
in Article 3 (commencing with Section 40200) of Chapter 1 of
Division 17 of this code. The public transportation agency shall
be considered the issuing agency for that purpose.

(2) Designate regularly employed and salaried employees, who
are engaged in directing traffic or enforcing parking laws and
regulations, for the purpose of removing any vehicle in the same
manner as a city, county, or jurisdiction of a state agency pursuant
to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 22650) of Division 11
of this code.

(e) With respect to the permitted use of vehicles or animals on
property under the direct control of the legislative body of a
municipality, no change in the use of vehicles or animals on the
property, that had been permitted on January 1, 1976, shall be
effective unless and until the legislative body, at a meeting open
to the general public, determines that the use of vehicles or animals
on the property should be prohibited or regulated.

(f) A transit development board may adopt ordinances, rules,
or regulations to restrict, or specify the conditions for, the use of
bicycles, motorized bicycles, skateboards, begin insert electrically motorized
skateboards, end insert and roller skates on property under the control of, or
any portion of property used by, the board.

(g) A public agency, including, but not limited to, the Regents
of the University of California and the Trustees of the California
State University, may adopt rules or regulations to restrict, or
specify the conditions for, the use of bicycles, motorized bicycles,
skateboards, begin insert electrically motorized skateboards, end insert and roller skates
on public property under the jurisdiction of that agency.

(h) “Housing authority,” for the purposes of this section, means
a housing authority located within a county with a population of
over six million people, and any other housing authority that
complies with the requirements of this section.

(i) “Public transportation agency,” for purposes of this section,
means a public agency that provides public transportation as
defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 1 of Article
XIX A of the California Constitution.

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begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 21967 of the end insert begin insert Vehicle Code end insert begin insert is amended to read: end insert

21967.  

Except as provided in Section 21968, a local authority
may adopt rules and regulations by ordinance or resolution
prohibiting or restricting persons from riding or propelling
begin delete skateboards end delete begin insert skateboards, or electrically motorized skateboards, end insert
on highways, sidewalks, or roadways.

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete
begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

Section 21968 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:

21968.  

(a) A motorized skateboard shall not be propelled on
any sidewalk, roadway, or any other part of a highway or on any
bikeway, bicycle path or trail, equestrian trail, or hiking or
recreational trail.

(b) For purposes of this section, an electrically motorized
skateboard, as defined in Section 313.5, is not a motorized
skateboard.

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SEC. 4.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

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