Summary#
S-10700 would amend New York’s General Business Law and Vehicle and Traffic Law; it does not create a separate new law. Its stated goal is to regulate sales and marketing of E-motos and electric off-highway motorcycles. It is an introduced bill, not law.
- It would ban retail sales and resales of E-motos in New York, including by online and physical retailers. The bill defines an E-moto by its ability to go faster than 20 miles per hour, with specified exclusions.
- It would limit advertising and sales of electric off-highway motorcycles to all-terrain vehicle dealers physically located in New York and registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Those dealers would have to register each motorcycle before delivery to the buyer.
- Sellers would have to display a bold warning, in the same size font as the price and before purchase. The required warning says it is illegal to ride the device on a public highway or street and illegal to sell it to a New York purchaser.
- It would prohibit false, deceptive or misleading marketing of the listed devices, including representing an E-moto or electric off-highway motorcycle as an e-bike, electric scooter or off-highway motorcycle unless it meets that device’s legal definition.
- It would allow certain officials to seek penalties and other court orders. It would also amend an existing seizure-and-forfeiture law to cover vehicles sold or offered for sale in violation of the new sales rules.
What it means for you#
- Retailers and online sellers: You could not sell, offer for retail sale or resell an E-moto in New York. Online retailers also could not sell electric off-highway motorcycles. The bill does not set out an application or approval process for sellers.
- All-terrain vehicle dealers: Only dealers physically located in New York and registered with the DMV could advertise, offer for sale or sell electric off-highway motorcycles. They would have to register each one before delivery.
- Buyers: If a device meets either definition, the seller would have to show you the bill’s warning before you try to buy it. The warning says sales to New York purchasers are illegal, although the bill would allow sales of electric off-highway motorcycles by qualifying dealers. The bill regulates sales and marketing; it does not itself create a road-riding prohibition. Whether other current laws restrict riding is not verified here.
- Businesses and marketers: You could not make false, deceptive or misleading marketing statements about these devices or mislabel them as another type of vehicle if they do not meet that type’s legal definition.
- Businesses and vehicle owners: A vehicle sold or offered for sale in violation of the new rule could be seized and forfeited under the amended law. The bill text refers to procedures in the existing law, which was not supplied.
- Municipalities and taxpayers: Municipal consumer-affairs directors and certain municipal or local government lawyers could enforce the sales rules. Any money they collected would stay with that municipality or local government.
Money#
No publicly available information on the bill’s costs or expected revenue.
- Courts could impose civil penalties of up to $1,000 per sales-rule violation. A court could waive that penalty if the defendant had no prior proceeding under the section and had taken reasonable, effective steps to prevent future violations.
- A violation of the warning rule could bring a penalty of up to $250 for a first offense and $1,000 for each later offense.
- Deceptive-marketing violations could bring penalties of up to $500 per violation, or up to $1,000 if the court finds the violation was knowing. The bill counts each item and each continuing day as a separate violation for specified sales and marketing penalties.
- The bill gives no estimate for enforcement, staffing, compliance costs or penalty revenue.
What is unclear#
- The supplied materials do not include the current Vehicle and Traffic Law provisions being amended. I could not verify how the bill’s definitions and seizure-and-forfeiture change would interact with current law.
- The warning says sales of these devices to New York purchasers are illegal, but the bill permits some electric off-highway motorcycle sales. It does not explain how sellers should handle that conflict.
- The bill does not explain how the warning rule would be enforced or what counts as a first or later warning offense.
- The definitions rely on other Vehicle and Traffic Law definitions that were not supplied. The bill also does not explain how to resolve any overlap between the device categories.
- The bill takes effect immediately if enacted, but it does not give sellers a transition period or set out review, appeal or reporting procedures.
Case for#
- The bill appears intended to restrict sales of E-motos and channel electric off-highway motorcycle sales through registered in-state dealers.
- Requiring dealer registration before delivery could make the sale and registration steps happen before a buyer receives an electric off-highway motorcycle.
- A notice before purchase could alert buyers to legal limits, and the marketing rule could make it harder to sell a device under a misleading vehicle label.
- Allowing local officials as well as the Attorney General to enforce the sales rules could provide more than one route for enforcement.
Case against#
- The bill would broadly prohibit retail sales and resales of E-motos, while allowing electric off-highway motorcycle sales only through a specific dealer channel. It does not explain how borderline or overlapping devices should be treated.
- The warning’s statement that it is illegal to sell the device conflicts with the bill’s permission for qualifying dealers to sell electric off-highway motorcycles.
- Penalties can accumulate by item and by day for specified violations, and the bill also expands seizure and forfeiture rules. The supplied text does not explain how those consequences would be applied alongside the existing law.
- The bill sets new duties for sellers and enforcement powers for officials without estimating the costs or explaining how the rules would be administered.