New Jersey bill would repeal strict e-bike licensing law after rider and retailer backlash

New Jersey lawmakers are already looking to walk back one of the country’s most controversial e-bike laws, just months after the sweeping new regulations took effect and sparked widespread backlash from riders, bicycle shops, and advocacy groups.

A newly introduced bill, S4830, sponsored by State Senator Raj Mukherji, would remove licensing, registration, and insurance requirements for low-speed electric bicycles with motors rated at 750W or less and a maximum motor-powered speed of 20 mph (32 km/h). This includes Class 1 and Class 2 electric bicycles.

The proposal would essentially restore bicycle-like treatment for these two classes of e-bikes, importantly including throttle-equipped models that make up the majority of e-bikes sold in the state and more broadly in the US, while maintaining stricter requirements for faster and more powerful electric bicycles.

The move comes after New Jersey’s previous governor, Phil Murphy, signed a sweeping e-bike law in January following several tragic crashes involving young riders.

That legislation, which took full effect in July, eliminated the state’s previous three-class e-bike framework and introduced licensing and registration requirements for all electric bicycles, including ordinary low-speed commuter models. Throttle-equipped and faster e-bikes also faced insurance requirements.

The backlash was intense and immediate.

As we previously reported, New Jersey bicycle shops experienced devastating sales declines after the law took effect, with some reporting drops of 20% to 90%. Several businesses were forced to lay off employees, downsize, or even close entirely as e-bike sales and usage plummeted.

Meanwhile, riders faced confusing new requirements that made e-bikes considerably less accessible, which was particularly impactful for lower-income residents, people with disabilities, and those who rely on electric bicycles for daily transportation.

The original law was intended to improve safety, but critics argued that it largely punished responsible riders instead of addressing the growing problem of high-powered electric motorcycles masquerading as bicycles. Only responsible riders actually registered their bikes as required by law, while others were deterred from cycling, and the hooligan riders who often gave e-bikes a bad name continued to ride illegally.

After all, requiring someone riding a 20 mph (32 km/h) commuter e-bike to obtain a driver’s license and register their bicycle does little to address reckless riding on machines capable of highway speeds.

The newly proposed legislation appears to acknowledge that distinction, offering a more targeted approach that could preserve reasonable safety regulations without making ordinary e-bike ownership unnecessarily complicated.

S4830 still needs to work its way through the legislature before becoming law, but for New Jersey’s struggling e-bike industry, it’s a promising sign that lawmakers may finally be listening. It is still widely argued that requiring electric bicycles from 21-28 mph (32-45 km/h) to require a driver’s license and registration is overly burdensome, but at least the state appears to be moving back toward the right direction.