The Washington State House Transportation Committee unanimously approved an amended version of Senate Bill 6110 – 2025-26 that does not include a legal definition for “electric motorcycles” nor does it add them to the existing section of laws regulating “motorcycles.” Instead, legislators are putting these questions to a new workgroup so they can hopefully create a more nuanced and complete set of regulation and code changes around e-motos.
Amendment H3723.3 (PDF) tasks a workgroup with coming up with the set of regulatory and code changes needed in order to properly class electric motorcycles as well as how to enforce the relevant rules uniformly across the state. Specifically, the workgroup will be asked to figure out how to establish civil infractions for youth under 16 since there needs to be some kind of penalty, but lawmakers are not eager to pursue criminal charges over a young person riding an e-moto. The workgroup will also look into the marketing of these devices, including potential penalties for deceptive marketing.
Representative Janice Zahn, who has been the primary sponsor of a companion bill in the House, said the amended bill was written in response to concerns from the Department of Licensing and acknowledged that it did not go as far as some of the bill’s supporters had hoped. Cities, led by Mercer Island, had been pushing for the legal definition so that they could write their own local codes regulating e-moto use. Such a definition was included in the initial House-approved companion bill HB 2374 – 2025-26 but not in the Senate-approved bill. The House bill appears to have stalled out in the Senate Transportation Committee, so SB 6110 is the most likely candidate to become law at this point. Since the House sponsors have now supported a version without the electric motorcycle definition, it seems very likely that definition won’t happen this session.
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Assuming the full House passes the amended SB 6110, the Senate would need to vote again on the text as amended. Only once an identical bill has passed both chambers can it be sent to the governor for a signature. The Schoolhouse Rock version of this rhymed much better.
I think assigning these tasks to the workgroup makes a lot of sense. I know folks are very concerned about young people riding e-motos. After reading the text of existing laws closely many times whole reporting on these new bills, it seems clear to me that any kid riding any device with a motor that continues providing power beyond 20 mph is already breaking the law. Nobody needs to wait for a state law change to start informing parents that devices powered beyond 20 mph are not e-bikes and are not street legal for kids under 16. There is no wiggle room or gray area on this question, and outreach to parents and kids can begin today.
The bill as amended does clarify what is and is not an e-bike, closing a loophole. Today, a high-power device that has a mode that limits the motor to 20 mph and 750 Watts might sound like an e-bike and maybe can even legally call itself that. But the moment a higher power mode is activated, it is no longer an e-bike. This is a silly loophole that the new bill as amended attempts to close by adding specific working to the e-bike definition excluding such devices. The following changes would go into effect the moment the governor signs the bill into law:
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(2) “Electric-assisted bicycle” does not include:
(a) Any vehicle capable of exceeding 20 miles per hour on solely its electric motor; or
(b) Any vehicle that is designed, manufactured, or intended by the manufacturer or seller to be easily configured in order not to meet the requirements of an electric-assisted bicycle, whether by a mechanical switch or button, by changing a setting in software controlling the drive system, by use of an online application, or through other means intended by the manufacturer or seller.
The gray areas that still need to be illuminated are mostly about marketing and selling these devices, creating legal frameworks for them and enforcing relevant laws. As we wrote in our previous stories, simply lumping all the e-motos into the motorcycle category might not be the best option and could even set up people for failure. If e-moto riders are told they must register their devices as motorcycles but then are unable to do so (or find the process too onerous or confusing) then the state should expect them to choose to keep riding illegally. Adults with e-motos are not pariahs. They are riding extremely efficient, zero-emission vehicles that do not currently have a clear legal lane. So before focusing on penalties and negatives, the state needs to answer how it wants such devices to be used and then create a workable regulatory system. There could be a big upside if mainstream versions of these things became popular. The Seattle region has never really been a Vespa town, but perhaps with traffic congestion and parking headaches only getting worse a small electric device that can go the speed of city traffic may find a market here.
Some of these devices may not easily meet motorcycle requirements, and some of them have power outputs much more similar to mopeds or Vespa scooters than to freeway-capable motorcycles. We spoke with an e-bike and e-moto seller in Lake Forest Park who supported the idea behind the bill but also suggested that the state should create an electric moped category or something similar. Mopeds are registered vehicles and require a regular driver’s license to operate, but not a motorcycle endorsement. So riders would need to be at least 16 and have demonstrated knowledge of the rules of the road. Mopeds are not allowed on trails, bike lanes or limited access highways.
Any e-moto riders out there who have ideas on what state law should look like should get organized. Washington is at the forefront of this issue, so its possible that whatever our state decides will have reverberations across the nation. There are a bunch of people out there clamoring for bans on e-motos, so this is a chance to make the case for what a responsible legal option could look like. Otherwise, they will go the way of dirt bikes and ATVs and be cursed to the legal nether realm of “off-road only.”