Newsom Signs SB 1167, Drawing a Clearer Line Between E-Bikes and E-Motos
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1167 into law Wednesday, establishing new consumer protections intended to make it harder for high-powered electric motorcycles and other devices to be marketed as e-bikes. The law takes effect January 1, 2027.
The law, authored by Senator Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas), was one of two major bicycle bills Streetsblog California followed through the final days of the 2026 legislative session. The other was the trailer bill that stops Encinitas from ripping out a state-funded protected bike lane on Santa Fe Boulevard.
The new law addresses a growing problem as electric mobility has expanded across California: not every electric two-wheeler being sold as an “e-bike” actually meets the state’s legal definition.
California defines an electric bicycle as having fully operable pedals and an electric motor producing no more than 750 watts, with separate speed limits for Class 1, 2 and 3 e-bikes. But increasingly powerful devices, including e-motorcycles and other high-speed vehicles, have been marketed using the e-bike label.
SB 1167 does not change those underlying legal wattage or speed limits. Instead, it requires manufacturers and sellers to more clearly identify devices that fall outside the existing e-bike definition and strengthens labeling, disclosure, safety and crash-data requirements.
The law also strengthens battery and electrical safety requirements. The goal is both to give consumers better information about what they are buying and to give the state better data about crashes involving different types of electric vehicles.
Streetsblog California covered SB 1167 as part of a broader debate over how California should respond to the rapid growth of the illegal electric motorcycle market without undermining legitimate e-bike use. A report commissioned by the Legislature and produced by the Mineta Transportation Institute found that the state’s existing categories were increasingly difficult to apply to a market filled with devices that blur the line between bicycles and motorcycles.
SB 1167 passed the Assembly 77-0 before receiving final Senate approval in August. Newsom’s signature makes it law as California continues to work out how its transportation rules should apply to a rapidly changing electric-mobility market.
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