Electric bicycles in Hawaii are now subject to new safety regulations under a state law enacted Wednesday following a similar attempt that failed a year ago due to some defective wording.
The new law, Act 259, establishes minimum age requirements for riders depending on e-bike class, increases the age for mandatory helmet use, and makes sellers disclose rules.
Act 259 also classifies two- and three-wheelers capable of going over 28 mph on electric power as e-motorcycles that are subject to licensing, registration and insurance similar to regular motorcycles.
“This bill really is going to go a long way to protect people’s lives,” Gov. Josh Green said during a ceremony in his office at the state Capitol before signing House Bill 2021 into law. “This bill will keep people alive.”
Wednesday was the deadline for bills passed by the Legislature earlier this year to become law with or without the governor’s signature. Green, a physician, reserved the last of 18 signing ceremonies to publicize what he considers one of the most important issues addressed by lawmakers in 2026 given increasing numbers of people in Hawaii, including children, injured or killed riding e-bikes.
“The biggest tragic moment in anybody’s life is to hear that their child got hurt or their nephew or niece got hurt or worse,” he said. “That’s what I experienced in the ER for all those years. … A lot of people, especially last year, lost their lives.”
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Green singled out work by Rep. Darius Kila, who spearheaded HB 2021 and the similar bill last year as chair of the House Transportation Committee.
“Darius came to us with these bills because he saw people get hurt,” Green
said. “He knew people had died.”
Kila (D, Nanakuli-Maili) said in February during a hearing on HB 2021 that he had been haunted by e-bike rider deaths since the failure of last year’s bill.
One such tragedy was the death of a 14-year-old boy in Ewa Beach struck by a vehicle as he was riding an electric dirt bike in a marked crosswalk against a red do-not-cross signal, according to police.
Kila said parents now have additional responsibilities under the new law if they buy or allow children to ride e-bikes, including knowing the rules of the road and ensuring supervision in some instances.
“I don’t want you folks to not feel like this is an opportunity for you folks to travel safely and still have fun while doing it,” he said. “But one death is too many, and everyone is always sorry after the fact. So instead of being sorry, I want us to be proactive, and this is our chance to do it.”
Under the new law, no one under 15 years of age may operate an e-bike on public property including roadways.
Also, no one younger than 16, unless under direct adult supervision, may operate two of the three classes of e-bikes — Class 2, which can be powered up to 20 mph by a motor activated independent of pedaling, and Class 3, which can be powered up to 28 mph by a motor activated with pedaling and includes a speedometer.
A Class 1 e-bike can be powered up to 20 mph by a motor activated with pedaling.
The new law allows all three classes of e-bikes to be ridden on a sidewalk but not in excess of 10 mph, except in business districts or where prohibited by county ordinances.
Any two- or three-wheeler that can be electrically powered over 28 mph is classified as an electric motorcycle subject to rules pertaining to regular motorcycles.
Ed Sniffen, director of the state Department of Transportation, said this provision will make roads safer because police can take action against riders of such devices if they are unlicensed, uninsured or unregistered.
“It’s huge,” Sniffen said after the ceremony. “Because for police, in the past it was very difficult to enforce because the rules weren’t clear. Now it’s absolutely clear on what’s legal and what’s not.”
Under the new law, police may seize electric two- or three-wheelers that aren’t road legal or don’t conform to e-bike definitions, which include having fully operable pedals and maximum
1 hp (750 watt) motor.
One other regulation for e-bike riders under the new law is that those under
18 years of age must wear a safety helmet securely fastened with a chin strap.
All the rules for operation took effect Wednesday. There are also regulations taking effect in 120 days related to e-bike sales. Under this section of the law,
manufacturers and distributors must affix a prominent label on e-bikes that discloses information in
writing that includes their top assisted speed and where the device is legal
to ride.
A sign posted near the point of sale stating that
the operation of e-bikes is regulated with certain use and rider restrictions also
is required, in addition to providing buyers with a pamphlet detailing state law regulating e-bike use.
Last year’s bill, HB 958, got vetoed by Green over anticipation that inadvertent language would make driving electric cars and trucks on public roads illegal.
Kila said he understood it was the most difficult veto Green issued last year. Green praised Kila for his persistence.
Sen. Chris Lee, who last year was chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said the bill needed to be fixed and passed.
“It’s kind of like riding a bike,” he said. “You just get back on.”
Lee (D, Kailua-Waimanalo-Hawaii Kai) said establishing clear rules and increasing safety for riding e-bikes needed to be done especially because the devices can be valuable in reducing transportation expenses for Hawaii households.
Travis Counsell, executive director of the Hawaii Bicycling League, also noted the economic benefits of biking and said the new law strengthens the framework for safer shared roads for everyone.
“Electric transportation has evolved rapidly in recent years, and our laws needed to evolve with it,” he said.
Other bills Green signed Wednesday included two that the governor previously said he might veto.
One of the two was
HB 2344, which establishes a Public School Realignment and Closure Commission modeled after a federal commission that recommended the consolidation or closure of unneeded military bases.
The other was Senate Bill 2338, and affects employment at the Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corp., the Hawai‘i Community Development Authority and the Hawai‘i Public Housing Authority in part by limiting the salary of the HHFDC and HCDA directors to 99% of the governor’s salary.
Green did veto two bills out of 267 passed by the Legislature this year. One was SB 3262, which would require the Hawai‘i Teacher Standards Board submit three nominees for its executive director for selection by the state Board of Education subject to advice and consent of the state Senate.
The other vetoed bill was SB 2600, which would have transferred $50 million from the state’s general fund into the state Emergency and Budget Reserve Fund.
Green previously said such a transfer would be financially imprudent given the “rainy day” reserve fund’s record balance of about $1.62 billion while other high-priority needs
exist.