ATLANTA – The Georgia Senate unanimously passed a bill Tuesday that would let city and county governments decide how to regulate e-scooters in their own backyards.
A Senate study committee considered last fall whether to apply statewide rules to the motorized scooters, which have proliferated in cities across the country including Atlanta.
A dozen Georgia cities have banned e-scooters recently. Atlanta, which still allows them, has placed a ban on riding the devices at night and on sidewalks following several deaths involving vehicles and scooter riders.
Ultimately, state lawmakers went with a hands-off approach in Senate Bill 159, which would only limit the devices to speeds of up to 20 miles per hour and to a maximum weight of 100 pounds.
Sponsored by Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, the bill approved Tuesday explicitly gives cities the authority for regulating e-scooters.
The bill has fewer provisions than when it was originally filed such as allowing e-scooters to use bicycle lanes and imposing caps for impound fees.
The light touch is meant to let e-scooters and other transit technology develop further in order to help ease traffic congestion, Gooch said.
“We didn’t want to overregulate the industry. We didn’t want to put a lot of barriers in the way,” Gooch said Tuesday from the Senate floor. “In fact, we wanted to encourage the development of this technology.”
An amendment was added Tuesday calling for local governments to consider requiring e-scooter companies to hold liability insurance.
“There’s a consideration that needs to be taken into account when the local governments set their regulations,” said Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-Marietta, who authored the insurance amendment.
The bill passed by 47-0 in the Senate. It now heads to the state House.
Gooch hashed out the hands-off approach during the study committee hearings last fall. He and other lawmakers decided fewer state rules would be best for e-scooters.
At the time, Gooch said he agreed the scooters needed some regulating but that he wanted to “offer a private-sector solution to a problem that’s been around for years.”
E-scooter proponents have said the devices help ease traffic congestion in heavily crowded areas like Atlanta and provide a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation than cars.