Legislators Prepare For E‑Scooter Deluge

Hartford—Electric scooters are coming to New Haven. With the right regulations in place ahead of time, their arrival might not spell chaos and confusion.

State legislators and a local transit official made that pitch in support of a new state bill that would regulate electric foot scooters.

The proposed bill, House Bill (H.B.) 7141, was featured prominently in Wednesday afternoon’s three-and-a-half-hour state Transportation Committee public hearing at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

City transit deputy Michael Pinto made the trip up to the capital city to urge state legislators to support the proposed bill, a 34-page document that seeks to define and impose standards and regulations on ​“electric foot scooters.”

“This technology is coming,” Pinto said. ​“We’ve seen it flood other cities. We simply want to have the tools in place” to make electric scooters a boon to non-drivers in New Haven, and not a messy disturbance.

New Haven is already preparing to welcome a fleet of 75 electric scooters as part of the expansion of the city’s bikeshare program. Meanwhile, there are no explicit scooter regulations on the state or local books,

“This is something where the ambiguity is more challenging for localities and the state if we don’t erect some kind of regulations,” said New Haven State Rep. Roland Lemar, House chair of the Transportation Committee. Last year Lemar shepherded to passage regulations on electric bicycles.

The new proposed law defines an ​“electric foot scooter” as a device that weighs no more than 100 pounds; that has two or three wheels, handlebars, and a floorboard that can be stood upon while riding; that is powered by an electric motor or human power; and that has a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour.

“A person may park an electric foot scooter on any sidewalk provided such electric foot scooter is parked in a manner that does not impede the reasonable movement of pedestrians and other traffic on such sidewalk,” the draft legislation reads, ​“and such parking is not prohibited by any ordinance of any city, town or borough or by any regulations of the Office of the State Traffic Administration issued or adopted pursuant to the provisions of section 14 – 298, as amended by this act.”

Stamford and Darien State Sen. Carlo Leone, Senate chair of the committee, asked Pinto if he is aware of the various problems that other cities have experienced in their adoption of electric scooters. Those problems have included illegal parking, discarded scooters, and scooters left in the middle of the sidewalk, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

“This bill will actually help us put in place the regulatory framework that will help us embrace the technology,” Pinto said. ​“We anticipate embracing it, and to do so safely.” He said the city transit staff are working with the city’s disability services office to make sure that e‑scooter stations don’t block pedestrian access on the sidewalks.

He said the city is also considering transitioning bike lanes to ​“slow vehicle lanes,” which could be used by scooters, bicycles, and a variety of other non-car users at speeds no greater than 15 miles per hour.

“It’s a new thing,” Leone said. ​“I’m always open to new thing.” But he is nevertheless worried about unintended consequences that may come from introducing electric scooters en masse in cities and towns throughout the state.

Scott Mullen, the director of expansion for the bikeshare and scootershare company Lime, told the legislators that electric scooters are usually no bigger than 35 pounds, that 10 or 15 can usually fit within a standard parking space, and that cities like Portland, Ore. that have adopted electric scootershare programs have seen significant usage from residents who would otherwise get around town by car.

“They’re small, unassuming vehicles,” Mullen said, but nevertheless capable of encouraging a drastic shift in car-free public mobility.

Lemar said that the committee still needs to mull through the experiences of other cities, and the recommendations from experts and industry players before finalizing the proposed scooter regulations.

“It’s new and unique,” he said about electric scooters. ​“We’re seeing problemss across the country in states that didn’t adopt regulations. So this is a first draft, trying to get us a baseline and standard in place so we don’t see the problems that they’re experiencing in other states.”

The proposed now stays in committee for more revisions. Lemar said the committee would have to vote on the proposed law by March 25 if the members want to pass it along to the full General Assembly for a final vote.

The 2019 Agenda

Bill #	Status	Summary	Sponsors
SB 431	Committee Denied	To reform the property tax system.	Martin Looney
SB 788	Committee Denied	To create more revenue options for municipalities with a large percentage of properties that are exempt from property tax.	Martin Looney, Juan Candelaria, Roland Lemar, Toni Walker, Robyn Porter, Al Paolillo, Michael DiMassa
SB 475	Committee Denied	To increase municipal revenue by raising the sales tax.	Martin Looney
SB 454	Committee Denied	To create a more efficient educational system by consolidating small school districts.	Martin Looney
SB 27	Committee Denied	To reduce prescription drug prices under the Medicaid program.	Martin Looney
SB 30	Committee Denied	To prohibit copayment accumulator programs.	Martin Looney
SB 34	Committee Denied	To prohibit the delivery, issuance for delivery or renewal of short-term health insurance policies in this state that do not provide coverage for essential health benefits.	Martin Looney
SB 48	Sent to the Floor	To require manufacturers of brand name prescription drugs to provide samples of such drugs to manufacturers of generic prescription drugs.	Martin Looney
SB 32	Committee Denied	To establish a public health insurance option.	Martin Looney
SB 1	Passed	To create a paid family and medical leave program.	Martin Looney, Gary Winfield
HB 5004	Gov. Signed	To provide more economic security to Connecticut families by increasing the minimum fair wage.	Robyn Porter, Juan Candelaria, Josh Elliott, Alphonse Paolillo, Michael D’Agostino, Michael DiMassa, Patricia Dillon, Roland Lemar, Toni Walker
SB 64	Sent to the Floor	To prohibit an employer from coercing employees into attending or participating in meetings sponsored by the employer concerning the employer’s views on political or religious matters	Martin Looney
SB 496	Attached to Different Bill	To provide for the legalization, taxation and regulation of the retail sale, personal growth and recreational use of cannabis by individuals twenty-one years of age or older.	Martin Looney, Gary Winfield
SB 25	Sent to the Floor	To restore the electoral privileges of convicted felons who are on parole.	Martin Looney
HB 6073	Committee Denied	To allow a housing authority to expand its area of operation to include high and very high opportunity census tracts within a thirty-mile radius.	Roland Lemar
HB 5273	Committee Denied	To establish as of right multifamily housing zones within one-half mile of all fixed route transit stops.	Roland Lemar
HB 5722	Committee Denied	To establish a public health insurance option.	Roland Lemar, Pat Dillon, Josh Elliott
HB 5595	Attached to Different Bill	To authorize and regulate the sale and adult use of marijuana in this state.	Juan Candelaria, Roland Lemar, Toni Walker, Robyn Porter, Pat Dillon, Josh Elliott
HB 6705	Committee Denied	To prohibit the Department of Correction from using solitary confinement in its facilities.	Gary Winfield, Juan Candelaria, Roland Lemar, Toni Walker, Robyn Porter, Josh Elliott
HB 6715	Committee Denied	To eliminate cash bail.	Robyn Porter, Josh Elliott
HB 7203	Committee Denied	To promote the safety of pedestrians by requiring motorists to grant the right-of-way to pedestrians who affirmatively indicate their intention to cross the road in a crosswalk.	Cristin McCarthy Vahey
HB 6590	Sent to the Floor	To allow local traffic authorities to establish lower speed limits on streets under their jurisdiction by holding a public hearing regarding such speed limits and providing notification of such speed limits to the Office of the State Traffic Administration.	Julio Concepcion
HB 7141	Passed	To define and regulate the use of electric foot scooters.	Roland Lemar
HB 7205	Sent to the Floor	To require a percentage of the cars, light duty trucks and buses purchased or leased by the state be zero-emission vehicles or zero-emission buses, establish a Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate Program and fund such program.	Roland Lemar
SB 969	Committee Denied	To provide basic labor standards for transportation network company drivers.	Matt Lesser, Peter Tercyak