RELATING TO HELMETS.

HB2516

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2516

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to helmets
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

����
SECTION
1
.
�
Section
291C-139, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

����
1.
�

By amending subsection (d) to read:

����
"(d)
�
No person under fifteen years of age shall
operate an electric foot scooter on a highway, street, roadway, or any other
public property in the State.
�
No person
under [
sixteen
]
eighteen
years of age shall operate an electric
foot scooter unless the person wears a safety helmet securely fastened with a
chin strap.
�
The safety helmet shall meet
the specifications of and requirements for a bicycle helmet as set out in
section 291C-150."

����
2.
�

By amending subsection (j) to read:

����
"
(j)
�
A person or entity that provides electric
foot scooters for hire shall not rent or lease an electric foot scooter to any
person unless:

����
(1)
�
Each renter or
lessee that is under the age of [
sixteen
]
eighteen
wears a safety
helmet, as required by subsection (d), while operating the electric foot
scooter; and

����
(2)
�
Each renter or
lessee is provided with a copy of the electric foot scooter ordinances or rules
that have been adopted by the applicable county."

����
SECTION
2
.
�
Section
291C-150, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

����
"
[
[
]�291C-150[
]
]
�

Bicycle helmets.
�
(a)
�
No person under [
sixteen
]
eighteen

years of age shall operate a bicycle upon a street,
a
bikeway, or any
other public property unless that person is wearing a properly fitted and
fastened bicycle helmet that has been tested by a nationally recognized agency
such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, [
the
]
National Safety Council, or [
the
] Children's Safety Network, and is
designed to fit the user and protect against head trauma.
�
This requirement also applies to a person who
rides upon a bicycle while in a restraining seat that is attached to the
bicycle or who rides in a trailer towed by the bicycle.

����
(b)
�
No
person shall operate a high-speed electric bicycle unless that person is
wearing a properly fitted and fastened bicycle helmet that has been tested
pursuant to subsection (a).

����
[
(b)
]
(c)
�
A person who provides bicycles
or
high-speed electric bicycles
for hire shall not rent a [
bicycle
]
:

����
(1)
�
Bicycle
to
any person unless every person who is under age [
sixteen
]
eighteen

is wearing a bicycle helmet, as required in subsection (a)[
,
]
; or

����
(2)
�
High-speed
electric bicycle unless every person is wearing a helmet as required in
subsection (b),

while operating the rented bicycle[
,
]
or
high-speed electric bicycle,
occupying a restraining seat that is attached
to the rented bicycle[
,
]
or high-speed electric bicycle,
or
riding in a trailer towed by the rented bicycle[
.
]
or high-speed
electric bicycle.

����
[
(c)
]
(d)
�
A violation of this section is punishable by
a fine of [
not
]
no
more than $25.
�

The parent or legal guardian having control or custody of an
unemancipated minor whose conduct violates this section shall be liable for the
amount of the fine imposed pursuant to this section.

����
[
(d)
]
(e)
�
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the
fines collected for a violation of this section shall be paid into the state
treasury to the credit of the state general fund.

����
(f)
�
For purposes of this section,
"high-speed electric bicycle" means a bicycle that is:

����
(1)
�
Equipped with
fully operable pedals and an electric motor of no more than seven hundred fifty
watts that provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling; and

����
(2)
�
Ceases to provide
assistance when the bicycle reaches the speed of twenty-eight miles per hour
and equipped with a speedometer.
"

����
SECTION
3.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

����
SECTION 4.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Helmets;
Electric Foot Scooter; Bicycle; High-Speed Electric Bicycle; Required

Description:

Increases
the age of an individual who is required to wear a helmet for electric foot
scooters and bicycles.
�
Prohibits a
person from operating a high-speed electric bicycle, or a class 3 electric
bicycle, unless that person wears a helmet.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.