Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills regulating the most dangerous devices, and allowing a pilot ban on youth e-bike riding in San Mateo County.

Oct 1, 2026

Updated 1:16 pm PT

An e-bike parked in Mill Valley on July 24, 2025. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed a bill that clarified what cannot be marketed as an e-bike.
 (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three laws Wednesday aimed at addressing some of the most pressing safety concerns surrounding e-bikes, as the devices’ popularity continues to rise in California.

SB 1167 prohibits any electric device capable of traveling faster than 20 mph with a throttle or 28 mph with a pedal assist — California’s existing speed limits for e-bikes — from being sold or advertised as an e-bike. 

The new law groups those devices into the “moped” or “motor-driven cycle” category in the state’s vehicle code, depending on their maximum speed, and requires riders to have the necessary vehicle registration and license to operate them. 

Regulating those faster devices was a top legislative priority for Streets for All, a California transportation and land use advocacy organization, said Mark Vukcevich, the group’s director of state policy.

A young person rides an e-bike through Mill Valley on July 24, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)

“While legal e-bikes themselves may not be perfect, the thing we know we need to address are these illegal devices that are making e-bikes and e-bike riders look really bad,” Vukcevich said. 

A December 2025 report by San José State University’s Mineta Transportation Institute found it was highly likely that many injury crashes thought to involve e-bikes actually involve e-motorcycles and e-mopeds. The report also found that data on specifically which kinds of bikes are involved in crashes is commonly incomplete, making data-based policymaking more difficult. 

State Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas), SB 1167’s author, said the legislation “ensures that consumers know if they are buying an e-bike or something else that goes much faster and carries greater risk.” 

A bicyclist rides on the Valencia Street center running bike lane in San Francisco’s Mission District on Aug. 23, 2024. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)

Another e-bike bill signed by Newsom allows municipalities in San Mateo County to prohibit children under 12 from riding a class I or II e-bike, which have a maximum assisted speed of 20 mph, until Jan. 1, 2031. The bill mirrors similar pilot programs previously approved by the Legislature in Marin and San Diego county, which also set minimum age requirements for certain classes of e-bikes. State law already prohibits children under 16 from riding a class III e-bike.

The bill gives each local authority in San Mateo County the option to enact the pilot in its jurisdiction. 

Foster City councilmember Stacy Jimenez said she was looking forward to “bringing this tool to Foster City.”

“Success doesn’t mean fewer kids riding bikes — it means more kids riding, and riding safely, and AB 2595 will help cities and our county do that,” Jimenez said. 

Newsom also signed AB 2346, from state Assemblymembers Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City) and Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto), which requires Class II e-bikes sold after Jan. 1, 2029 to be equipped with a speedometer. The bill also sets a 10 mph speed limit for sidewalk riding. 

In a statement, Dr. René Bravo, president of the California Medical Association, thanked Berman and Wilson for “listening to the physicians and other experts who have raised these concerns and putting evidence-based safety measures into law to make e-bikes safer for young riders, pedestrians and everyone on the road.”