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State lawmakers are scrambling to catch up to the proliferation of high-speed mini-motorcycles and bikes that have found rapid popularity among young people, leading to a range of community and safety concerns.
The legislative push comes as police grapple with unlicensed juvenile drivers, packs of riders, street takeovers, property damage, assaults and a spike in injuries to both riders and pedestrians.
The trouble stems from the growing adoption of micromobility devices, which have evolved from battery-assist pedal bikes and e-scooters to a range of adrenaline-producing products.
Especially popular are e-motorcycles, which can cost thousands of dollars, weigh upwards of 150 pounds and go 50 mph or faster. Mini-bikes, which are gas-powered or electric, are also increasingly a favorite of younger riders.
New York Sens. Kristen Gonzalez and Liz Krueger and Assemblymember Diana Moreno, all Democrats, introduced legislation this month to outlaw e-motos.
"By banning the sale of illegal e-motos and focusing on the point of sale issues, we're bringing safety and transparency to our neighbors, while stopping deceptive business practices," Gonzalez said in a statement announcing the bill.
The lawmakers said the need for new restrictions was made more urgent by a fatal crash on the Queensboro Bridge in May that killed the rider of a high-speed scooter and a bicyclist
The emergence of e-motos and mini-bikes as a popular choice for juveniles and young adults has proved vexing for authorities. Communities across the country from Orlando to suburban Chicago to Los Angeles are grappling with swarms of riders that take over the streets and flaunt traffic laws.
Last month, the Los Angeles Police Department made numerous arrests and seized nearly 80 mini and pocket bikes during a crackdown that officers said was meant to thwart the takeover of a downtown bridge.
"We got a team together so we could ... block them in. It's really the only way we could combat this problem," Sgt. Robert Leary with the LAPD's Street Racing Task Force told the Los Angeles Times.
State lawmakers have been trying to catch up to the fast-changing personal mobility device marketplace. Concern about e-motos follows earlier efforts to crack down on high-speed e-scooters.
A 2025 Colorado law made it illegal to market an e-moto as an e-bike.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill last year defining e-motos as off-highway motor vehicles similar to all-terrain vehicles. Newsom signed legislation Wednesday that seeks to further clarify what is and is not an e-bike. It was supported by a wide range of groups and cities.
A new Washington state law clarifies that electric vehicles that go faster than 20 mph are not e-bikes. The law also creates a work group to recommend regulations for e-motos.
Elsewhere, efforts are ongoing to address the e-moto craze.
Minnesota Sen. Judy Seeberger, a Democrat, held a news conference this week with a local sheriff to call for stronger e-moto regulations.
"They're motorcycles, they go fast, they're not street legal," Seeberger said.
Seeberger highlighted legislation the Minnesota Senate passed this year that would have expanded the definition of motorcycles to include electric bikes with at least 1,500-watt motors that can exceed 30 mph.
She also called for better labeling so consumers know what they are buying, and a requirement that youth e-riders get training and a permit before hitting the streets.
Republican-backed bills in the Minnesota House and Senate this year also sought to change the definition of motorcycle. Similar legislation was introduced this year in Michigan.
An Illinois bill would have defined electric mobility devices as "light-weight, low-speed, electric-powered" devices that do not exceed 28 mph. Gas or electric bikes that go faster would be designated as a "motor driven cycle" whose driver must be licensed and insured.
The American Motorcyclist Association has pushed back on efforts to define e-motos as motorcycles.
"Regulators cannot simply lump every two-wheeled vehicle into the motorcycle class, either on-road or off-road, while ignoring the fact that these bikes are being sold to and ridden primarily by minors who would not be allowed to operate a car or on-highway motorcycle," the association said in a statement on its website.
The New York bill would broadly define an e-moto as any motorized device capable of exceeding 20 mph that is not defined in state law as an e-bike or e-scooter.
It would also prohibit internet sales of electric off-highway motorcycles, or e-dirt bikes, which are already banned from public roads in New York unless they meet certain requirements and are licensed and insured.
ATV dealers could still sell e-dirt bikes so long as they were registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles before delivery to the buyer. It would be illegal for individuals or dealers to market e-motos or e-dirt bikes as an e-bike. And illegal sellers would face fines of up to $1,000 per violation, and police could seize the vehicles.
"These devices are responsible for the majority of deaths connected to micromobility devices and this bill will be an important step in preventing their sale, both in physical stores and by large online retailers," Krueger said.