Florida HB 243, the 2026 e-bike regulation bill sponsored by Rep. Yvette Benarroch, cleared all three of its House committees but never became law. The House set it aside in favor of its Senate companion, CS/SB 382, which passed both chambers unanimously before Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed it on June 25, 2026.1Tallahassee Democrat. DeSantis Vetoes Florida E-Bike Regulation Bill Florida’s e-bike rules therefore remain governed by Section 316.20655, which treats e-bikes largely the same as conventional bicycles.2Florida Legislature. Section 316.20655 – Electric Bicycle Regulations
Why the Bill Was Filed
Benarroch, who represents the Naples area, cited roughly a half-dozen recent e-bike fatalities on Florida roads when she presented the bill in January 2026, calling the legislation “inspired by tragedy.”3Florida Politics. House Subcommittee Backs Bill to Regulate E-Bikes in Florida, Establish Task Force Rep. Berny Jacques said residents had abandoned the Pinellas Trail because of youths “playing a game of chicken” with pedestrians, and Rep. Anna Eskamani described untrained young teenagers riding e-bikes in Orange County as causing “horrifying and also preventable disasters.” A JAMA Network Open study published in June 2024 found e-bike injuries nationally doubled every year between 2017 and 2022.4Florida Phoenix. Proposal to Create a Task Force to Try to Prevent E-Bike Injuries Moves to Full House
What HB 243 Would Have Required
The committee substitute version, CS/HB 243, layered new statewide rules on top of Florida’s existing three-tier e-bike classification: Class 1 (pedal-assist up to 20 mph), Class 2 (throttle up to 20 mph), and Class 3 (pedal-assist up to 28 mph).5Florida Senate. CS/HB 243 State Affairs Committee Analysis
Speed and Yielding
The headline rule was a 10 mph speed cap whenever a pedestrian was within 50 feet on a sidewalk or pedestrian-designated area. On shared pathways not next to a roadway, riders would have had to yield to pedestrians and give an audible signal before overtaking or passing them. Local governments could still allow e-bikes on sidewalks, but no local ordinance could permit speeds above 15 mph. Existing local authority to set minimum-age rules and require photo identification would have stayed in place. The bill did not impose a state helmet requirement.5Florida Senate. CS/HB 243 State Affairs Committee Analysis
Penalties
Breaking the new speed and yielding rules would have been a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation.5Florida Senate. CS/HB 243 State Affairs Committee Analysis The Senate companion that ultimately reached the Governor set the fine at $30.1Tallahassee Democrat. DeSantis Vetoes Florida E-Bike Regulation Bill
Crash Reporting
The Florida Highway Patrol and local law enforcement would have been required to track and document e-bike crashes and report the data to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Benarroch argued that “the number of e-bike accidents is not going down and there needs to be more data collected to understand how profound the issue is.”3Florida Politics. House Subcommittee Backs Bill to Regulate E-Bikes in Florida, Establish Task Force
Safety Task Force
HB 243 would have created a nine-member Electric Bicycle Safety Task Force within the DHSMV, drawing from state agencies, law enforcement associations, the e-bike industry, local-government groups, the medical field, and a bicycle-injury-prevention organization. It would have met at least monthly across North, Central, and South Florida, delivered recommendations to the Governor and legislative leaders by October 1, 2026, and dissolved on submission of that report.6Florida Senate. CS/HB 243 Transportation and Economic Development Subcommittee Analysis
How the Bill Died
HB 243 was filed on October 22, 2025, and moved through the House Government Operations Subcommittee, the Transportation and Economic Development Budget Subcommittee, and the State Affairs Committee between January and early February 2026.7Florida House. CS/HB 243 Bill Detail Rather than taking a separate floor vote, the House laid HB 243 on the table on March 9, 2026, after Senator Keith Truenow’s companion bill, CS/SB 382, cleared the Senate 37–0 on February 25 and the House 112–0 on March 9.8Florida Senate. CS/SB 382 Bill Detail The enrolled bill reached the Governor on June 15, 2026.
Governor DeSantis vetoed CS/SB 382 on June 25, 2026, calling the legislation overreach. He wrote that the 10-mph-within-50-feet rule would be “difficult for a bicyclist to measure when safely operating an e-bike” and warned the bill would “probably lead to enhanced surveillance by local governments against citizens,” since enforcing a contextual speed limit would likely require speed-detection equipment.1Tallahassee Democrat. DeSantis Vetoes Florida E-Bike Regulation Bill He also objected that the companion’s task force had no sunset date and could recommend “limitless regulations,” while the bill imposed substantive rules before the task force could even study the issue.9WFLA. DeSantis Vetoes Bill That Would Create New E-Bike Rules The legislature did not attempt an override.8Florida Senate. CS/SB 382 Bill Detail
What the Law Actually Says Today
Because both the House bill and its Senate companion failed, nothing in HB 243 is enforceable. Florida e-bike riders are still governed by Section 316.20655, which gives e-bikes and their riders the same rights and duties as conventional bicycles and exempts them from driver-licensing, vehicle-registration, and financial-responsibility requirements.2Florida Legislature. Section 316.20655 – Electric Bicycle Regulations There is no statewide 10 mph pedestrian-proximity rule, no statewide audible-signal requirement, no $30 infraction, no mandatory e-bike crash reporting system, and no state safety task force. Local governments retain their existing authority to set minimum-age requirements and require riders to carry photo identification, and any sidewalk or local operating rules in your city or county continue to apply.