{"id":326945,"date":"2026-07-02T05:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T05:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/326945\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T05:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T05:36:08","slug":"florida-governor-vetoes-e-bike-bill-leaving-local-communities-to-set-own-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/326945\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida governor vetoes e-bike bill, leaving local communities to set own rules"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12)  \u2014 A bill that would have created stricter regulations for e-bikes statewide was close to becoming law July 1, but it ultimately failed to pass.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the measure June 25, calling it government overreach. Now, some local communities are moving forward with their own enforcement efforts.<\/p>\n<p>Along Palm Beach&#8217;s Lake Trail, signs clearly prohibit all electric and motorized vehicles, including e-bikes and e-scooters.<\/p>\n<p>See also: <a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/news\/local\/governor-ron-desantis-announces-floridas-first-terrorist-organization-designations-under-new-law-florida-department-of-law-enforcement-sinaloa-cartel-tren-de-aragua-the-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-cartel-del-noreste-and-cartel-del-golfo-antifa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">DeSantis announces Florida&#8217;s first terrorist organization designations under new law<\/a><\/p>\n<p>While Florida law allows e-bikes on roads, bike lanes and many shared-use paths, they must have operable pedals, and riders must obey traffic laws.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They don&#8217;t care. They go around you. They&#8217;re horrible,&#8221; said Marc Lefkowitz of Palm Beach.<\/p>\n<p>The new statewide e-bike rules were set to take effect this summer, but the governor vetoed the bill last week.<\/p>\n<p>The vetoed legislation would have imposed new statewide safety rules, including a 10 mph speed limit for e-bikes within 50 feet of pedestrians and a requirement for riders to signal before passing on shared trails. In his veto letter, DeSantis said the restrictions would be difficult for law enforcement to enforce.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think at any age, especially for children, it&#8217;s important to have a discussion with your parents about safety while riding on the road,&#8221; said Whitney Torres of West Palm Beach.<\/p>\n<p>Some residents say they continue to see riders traveling at dangerous speeds on local trails.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They go 30 miles an hour. It&#8217;s nuts,&#8221; Lefkowitz said.<\/p>\n<p>In Jupiter Farms, the community group Jupiter Farms Residents is reminding people that electric motor bikes without pedals are not considered legal e-bikes under Florida law and are prohibited on public streets and sidewalks.<\/p>\n<p>The reasoning is simple: If you have to pedal, you&#8217;re less likely to speed.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, <a href=\"https:\/\/cbs12.com\/news\/local\/martin-county-deputies-crack-down-on-illegal-e-bikes-after-resident-complaints-traffic-unit-road-patrol-deputies-community-policing-e-bike-crashes-youth-behavior-public-safety-florida-law-e-bike-regulations-speed-limits-28-mph-750-watt-limit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">the Martin County Sheriff&#8217;s Office <\/a>has increased enforcement after deputies reported a rise in reckless riding, including riders ignoring traffic laws.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If they don&#8217;t have pedals, it&#8217;s a no-go. You cannot ride them, period,&#8221; Sheriff John Budensiek said in April when the crackdown began. &#8220;If it goes over 28 mph, you cannot ride it. If the motor is over 750 watts, you cannot ride it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>E-bike riders who violate the rules could face citations.<\/p>\n<p>A Palm Beach County jury recently awarded $5.1 million to a Jupiter teenager who suffered life-changing injuries in a 2024 e-bike crash.<\/p>\n<p>Jurors found the Floresta apartment community partially responsible for the crash, concluding that overgrown landscaping at the property obstructed a driver&#8217;s view as the 12-year-old collided with a vehicle exiting the complex.<\/p>\n<p>According to the verdict, the crash left the teen with permanent hearing loss, facial scarring and other serious injuries. The jury awarded $5.1 million in damages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A bill that would have created stricter regulations for e-bikes statewide was&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326946,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-326945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}