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The Illinois e-bike bill that passed the House on May 27 is actually not the one set to become law next year. That day, the House passed SB 3336 by a vote of 80-30. The final votes came on a different bill: SB 3484, which the Senate had passed 55-0 in April, when it was still a license plate and registration bill. At the end of the session, a House amendment replaced that bill's text with the e-bike package. The House passed the result 84-16, the Senate concurred 48-7, and Gov. JB Pritzker signed it Aug. 26. It is Public Act 104-0854.
Why the swap? ILGA's page for SB 3336 records no Senate vote on the House's changes. Ride Illinois says only that a "procedural matter" explains it, and nothing we found says more.
Starting Jan. 1, 2027, Illinois sorts electric rides into legal buckets, mostly by motor power and design. Class 1, 2 and 3 e-bikes stay legal in bike lanes and, unless the agency in charge says otherwise, on bike paths, with new minimum ages. The statute derives different terminology for faster e-bikes and e-motos, dubbing them as motor driven cycles. Riders need a driver's license, owners need insurance, new bikes need titles, and the bikes are barred from bike lanes and paths. In addition, a retailer that markets one in a way that makes it look like an ordinary e-bike can face a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per vehicle.
It's signed, but it isn't in effect quite yet.
Wait, Which Type Of E-bike?
Let's breakdown how the statute sorts battery-powered rides, as well as how the news shorthand blurs them.
Low-speed e-bikes. These are the familiar Classes 1 to 3: a bicycle with working pedals and a motor of less than 750 watts. Class 1 assist stops at 20 mph. A Class 2 motor can power the bike on its own and can't assist once the bike reaches 20 mph. Class 3 assist stops at 28 mph. The Secretary of State says more than 40 other states use the same framework, which we've written about in detail, particularly on how that system is slowly disintegrating amidst increasing regulations.
Motor driven cycles. This is the statute's term for what most people call e-motos: bikes with an electric motor above 750 watts and up to 8,000, plus any e-bike or gas bicycle that isn't a low-speed one. Electric vehicles above 8,000 watts with a seat or saddle fall under the existing motorcycle definition, which the Act didn’t change.
Electric micromobility devices. E-scooters, electric skateboards and electric unicycles, defined as light, low-speed electric devices that run at speeds up to 28 mph.
Where the shorthand goes wrong. The Secretary of State's office backed the bill, and its Aug. 26 release describes the new rules by speed: riders of "e-bikes and e-motos capable of traveling over 28 mph" need a license, title, registration and insurance. The statute draws the line differently, defining the fast bucket by motor power and by whether a bike meets the Class 1 to 3 definitions, which include the speeds where assist ends. Scooters, skateboards and unicycles are handled separately: they aren't licensed, but they're barred above 28 mph.
How We Got Here
- 2017: Illinois adopts the three e-bike classes. Gov. Bruce Rauner signs SB 396, BRAIN reported.
- September 2025: A 16-year-old is killed in an e-bike crash in Arlington Heights, NBC Chicago reported.
- Jan. 29, 2026: Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias outlines a statewide e-bike safety plan and launches a campaign called Ride Safe, Ride Smart, Ride Ready.
- Feb. 4 and 5: Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) files SB 3336, then a short bill about passengers on Class 3 e-bikes, and SB 3484, a license plate and registration bill.
- Apr. 14 and 15: The Senate Transportation Committee turns SB 3336 into the full e-bike package and approves it 17-0. On Apr. 15 the full Senate passes it 54-0 and, the same day, passes SB 3484, still a plates bill, 55-0.
- May 27: The House adopts Floor Amendment 2 by voice vote and Floor Amendment 3 72-34, then passes SB 3336 80-30. Amendment 2, per its text, would have applied the state's DUI statute to impaired riders of low-speed e-bikes and gas bicycles. Amendment 3, per its text, would have swapped that for an exemption unless a bike was capable of and operating above 28 mph. The next day, Senate Transportation recommends concurring in the House changes, 17-0. ILGA shows no Senate vote after that.
- May 30 to June 1: The House Executive Committee advances SB 3484 12-0. Rep. Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, files House Floor Amendment 1, which replaces the plates bill with the e-bike package, and a House committee recommends it 11-0. ILGA logs the amendment's adoption, the House's 84-16 vote and the Senate's 48-7 concurrence on June 1. The roll-call sheets for those last two votes, House and Senate, are dated May 31.
- June 30 and Aug. 26: ILGA lists the bill as sent to the governor on June 30. Pritzker signs it Aug. 26.
- Jan. 1, 2027: The law takes effect, per Section 99.
What The Law Does
Low-speed e-bikes. The three classes carry over, with new minimum ages: 15 for Class 1 and Class 2 riders, while Class 3 stays at 16. A rider under 16 can still ride as a passenger on a Class 3 bike designed for one, and an operator under 18 on a passenger-capable bike may carry only a sibling, stepsibling, child or stepchild. These bikes can use roads and bike lanes where bicycles are allowed, and bike paths unless a State agency with jurisdiction prohibits them. Sidewalks are off limits (Sec. 11-1517).
Motor driven cycles. Riders need a valid driver's license, though a 16- or 17-year-old can get a daylight-only instruction permit and ride under a licensed operator aged 21 or older. Owners face the state's mandatory insurance requirements. These bikes are barred from sidewalks, bike lanes, bike paths, shared-use paths and natural-surface bike trails, from interstates, and from public land a State body expressly closes to them. Police may impound one found in violation, at their discretion (Sec. 11-1403.4).
Titles. An electric motor driven cycle rated above 750 and up to 8,000 watts, or a gas bicycle capable of more than 28 mph, bought new on or after Jan. 1, 2027 must be titled, as long as it has a vehicle identification number (VIN). Older purchases need not be titled, but an owner who wants to ride on public highways must title and register the bike (Sec. 3-101).
The retailer rule. No retailer, wholesaler, distributor or manufacturer may market, advertise, label or offer a motor driven cycle in a way that would reasonably lead a buyer to think it isn't covered. A violation is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, enforceable by the Attorney General or State's Attorneys, and officers may seize or impound the vehicles while a case is pending. The civil penalty is up to $10,000 per violation, and each mislabeled or falsely marketed vehicle counts separately (Sec. 11-1403.4(i)).
Scooters, skateboards and unicycles. Riders must be 16, and the devices are exempt from title, registration, license and insurance requirements. They can't go on sidewalks, on highways with speed limits above 35 mph unless there's a designated bike lane, or on interstates. A device "capable of and operating in excess of 28 miles per hour" is barred from public highways, bike lanes and bike paths. A low-speed e-scooter can now reach 15 mph, up from 10, and riding any of these devices under the influence of alcohol or any drug is barred (Secs. 11-1435 and 1-140.11).
Local governments. The text bars any unit of local government, home rule units included, from regulating motor driven cycles, micromobility devices or low-speed e-bikes, and calls that an exercise of exclusive State power. The exceptions: the Departments of Transportation and Natural Resources can bar micromobility devices from highways, lanes and paths they control, and park, forest preserve, conservation and transit districts can regulate e-bikes and micromobility devices on bike paths under their jurisdiction. One concrete change: the power to bar low-speed e-bikes from a bike path used to belong to the municipality, county or local authority with jurisdiction, and the new text gives it to a State agency. Where motor driven cycles are banned, the State or local entity in charge must post permanent signs or pavement markings; the text sets no deadline and no money (Secs. 11-317, 11-1403.4, 11-1435 and 11-1517).
What changed from the Senate bill. Our word-level comparison of the PDFs shows the enacted text matches House Floor Amendment 2 to SB 3336 minus that amendment's DUI section. Against the version the Senate passed, the effective date moved up from July 1, 2027 to Jan. 1, 2027, the ban on motor driven cycles on highways divided by a median and on highways above 55 mph is gone, and park, forest preserve and similar districts got authority over bike paths.
The DUI language isn't in the law, and the enacted text doesn't amend the state's DUI statute at all. The Secretary of State's director of legislative affairs, Michelle Paul, said taking it out means "zero changes to the DUI section of the statute," WGLT reported. What that means for a rider on a low-speed e-bike is a question the coverage we reviewed doesn't really settle.
The Case For
Supporters range from the Secretary of State's office to police chiefs, a children's hospital and the state's municipal league. The Secretary of State's Aug. 26 release recognizes the Illinois Municipal League, the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, the driver-education association, Ride Illinois, Active Trans, ABATE and Lurie Children's Hospital as part of a coalition that helped shape the measure. Sen. Darby Hills (R-Barrington Hills), whom ILGA lists as a Senate sponsor of SB 3484, said she was proud to see "our e-bike safety legislation" signed into law.
The final tallies were 84-16 in the House and 48-7 in the Senate, after a 54-0 Senate vote on SB 3336 in April. Capitol News Illinois described the final passage as having bipartisan support.
The pitch is simple, per the Secretary of State: one set of rules instead of a village-by-village patchwork, a clear line between e-bikes and e-motos, age limits, and tools for police. Hinsdale's deputy police chief, Tom Lillie, said in June that citations under his town's own ordinance dropped "drastically" as residents learned the rules, and that the state law is catching up to how villages had been reading the rules, The Hinsdalean reported. That is one town's account, not a statewide result.
The Case Against & Gaps In Between
Process and DUI. The sharpest pushback came in the House. Capitol News Illinois reported that most House Republicans opposed SB 3336 after the DUI amendment, and that Rep. Patrick Windhorst, R-Metropolis, said it changed DUI law and that proving a rider went faster than 28 mph would be difficult. House Minority Leader Tony McCombie called the Secretary of State's effort hasty, said the House-passed bill "negates current law for driving under the influence," and said it disregards the concerns of utility terrain vehicle owners. That DUI language is not in the final law. On the final House vote, which came on SB 3484, 17 of the 30 members who voted against SB 3336 on May 27 voted for the final bill, by our count from House roll call No. 23 and No. 63. Five who had voted for SB 3336 voted against the final bill. The roll calls don't say why anyone changed.
Who showed up. ILGA's witness-slip page for SB 3336 lists 95 proponents and 6 opponents across its hearings. Four of the opponent slips came from the House committee's May 6 hearing, one from a March 10 Senate hearing before the bill was rewritten, and one from the Senate's April 14 hearing, where 24 slips were from proponents and the lone opponent, The National Institute for Micromobility, filed a record of appearance only [needs URL — ILGA Apr. 14 Senate Transportation results page for SB 3336, try https://ilga.gov/Senate/hearings/Results?CommitteeId=3079&HearingId=22754&LegislationDocumentId=207535&LegislationId=166189]. Only that institute and a company, Electric Movement LLC, list an organization; the rest list themselves or no affiliation. SB 3484's own witness-slip page shows 3 proponents and 9 opponents. Per its opponents tab, the nine came from the Illinois Municipal League and a couple of other filers. Neither page says what anyone objected to, and the hearings behind SB 3484's three proponent slips (April 14 and May 13) came while SB 3484 was still the plates bill, so we can't tie these slips to the e-bike rules. The league's CEO, Brad Cole, is quoted supporting the final law in the Secretary of State's release. These lists show who filed at particular hearings, not who supports the final law.
The 28 mph line. Daniel Salinas, who owns the Electric Bike Store on Chicago's North Side, supports more regulation but objected to the 28 mph cutoff, NBC Chicago reported June 2. He said many bikes go 28 to 32 mph, that a 35 mph limit would avoid the problem, and that delivery riders often use bikes that reach 35 mph and would face the new requirements. DoorDash filed a proponent slip on SB 3336 in the Senate.
Gaps, including ones supporters name. The statute requires a VIN before a title can be issued, and Streetsblog Chicago reported in May, about the Senate-passed version, that e-motos generally lack one. (Note: the post was sponsored by Boulevard Bikes.) Asked about it, Ride Illinois's executive director, Dave Simmons, said the details "will need to be ironed out" with guidance from the Secretary of State. The coverage we reviewed doesn't say how an owner of a bike without a VIN gets a title. The law also has no helmet requirement, and its text doesn't say how officers would measure a device's speed.
In the coverage we reviewed, no retailer or manufacturer takes a public position against the law. The shop owner quoted above supports regulation.
Missing Numbers
The numbers behind the push are national, and they have limits. Columbia researchers found that the rate of e-bike injuries surged 293% between 2019 and 2022, using emergency department data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated in 2023 360,800 emergency room visits tied to micromobility devices from 2017 through 2022 and said it knew of 233 deaths, though reporting is "ongoing and incomplete." The Secretary of State's release cites a 300 percent surge in injuries and fatalities nationwide without naming a source, which is dubious.
The one Illinois analysis we found covers 34,073 patients who passed through an emergency room after micromobility injuries at Illinois hospitals from 2021 to 2023, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Per its abstract, nearly half of e-bike injuries (45.4%) were motor vehicle crashes, while e-scooter injuries were mostly falls (78.4%). Using cycling injuries as the baseline, e-bike riders were more likely to be admitted to the hospital (adjusted odds ratio 1.62), to go to intensive care (2.39) and to have a traumatic brain injury (1.3). Its limits: the data end in 2023, the study covers every micromobility device, and the abstract doesn't say how it treats Class 1 to 3 bikes versus faster ones.
That is the through-line. The new law's central divide runs between legal e-bikes and e-motos, and we found no Illinois data that separates them. ILGA's status pages for SB 3336 and SB 3484 also list no fiscal note for either bill.
Local numbers are fragments. Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital treated 41 people, ages 8 to 73, for serious injuries involving e-bikes, e-scooters and dirt bikes from September 2025 through August, and 90% weren't wearing helmets, its trauma program coordinator, Karen Battaglia, told Shaw Local.
Where It Goes From Here
The law gives the Secretary of State rule-making power over the motor driven cycle and micromobility sections (Secs. 11-1403.4(m) and 11-1435(p)). The Secretary of State says its Ride Safe, Ride Smart, Ride Ready campaign will include awareness efforts for parents, riders and retailers, updated driver education materials and law enforcement guidance. The Attorney General and State's Attorneys enforce the retailer rule.
Locally, the Chicago Park District held town halls on Sept. 29, Sept. 30 and Oct. 6 to explain the rules and gather input on how e-bikes and e-scooters should be used on its paths and trails, WTTW reported. The statute lets park districts regulate e-bike and micromobility use on bike paths under their jurisdiction. Which older local ordinances survive the law's preemption language is a legal question we can't be sure about at this point.
What To Watch
- Secretary of State rules and guidance, including how an e-moto without a VIN gets a title
- Rules from the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Transportation and park districts for their paths and facilities
- Local ordinance changes before Jan. 1
- The first retailer cases after Jan. 1, from the Attorney General or State's Attorneys
- Any Illinois injury or crash data that separates Class 1 to 3 e-bikes from e-motos
Related Content
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- California Signs E-Bike Laws as NYC Weighs a Class 3 Ban
- New Jersey's E-Bike Law is Emptying Bike Shops
- The Three Class System is Fraying at the Edges
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