Enrolled Bill Summary

House Bill 1997 amends the Transportation Code to regulate electric personal assistive mobility devices. It defines "electric personal assistive mobility device" to mean a two nontandem wheeled device that is self-balancing, propelled by an electric propulsion system having an average power of 750 watts or one horsepower, and designed to transport one person. The bill allows a person to operate an electric personal assistive mobility device on sidewalks and bicycle paths and only allows its operation on residential streets, roadways, or public highways with a speed limit of 30 miles per hour or less while the person is crossing a crosswalk, where no sidewalk is available, or when directed by a traffic control device or by a law enforcement officer. House Bill 1997 provides that an electric personal assistive mobility device is not a motor vehicle, makes provisions for the operation of bicycles applicable to the operation of an electric personal assistive mobility device, and specifies that registration is not required for the device.