E-bikes may be sidelined for the moment by ice and cold. They’ll be back. And the laws in Oregon have had trouble keeping up.

Children will be riding them to school again, and children under the age of 16 cannot be on any form of e-bike, at least according to Oregon law. And there’s much more.

What should be done about e-bikes?

State Rep. Emerson Levy, D-Bend, has a plan for the February legislative session. She shared with us her legislative concept, which is like a draft bill. It may be changed.

She is aiming to allow children under 16, in some cases, to ride e-bikes. She is also updating the definition of e-bikes. And her bill creates a new penalty.

The proposal says children under 16 years of age may ride Class 1 e-bikes. Class 1 are sort of the tamest of the lot. They are pedal assist only, which means the electric motor doesn’t help unless a person pedals. The motor doesn’t help past 20 miles per hour.

Also under the proposal, only those 16 and older may operate Class 2 and Class 3 bikes. Class 2 e-bikes can have an electric motor propel the rider without pedaling. The motor stops helping at 20 miles per hour. A Class 3 e-bike provides assistance only when a rider is pedaling and stops assisting the rider at 28 miles per hour.

A challenge for law enforcement in Oregon has been uncertainty with what they are able to charge people with e-bike violations. Levy’s bill tries to offer more clarity there. The penalty language in her bills says a parent, legal guardian or other person with the legal responsibility for a child can be guilty of a Class E traffic violation if a child operates a Class 2 or Class 3 bike on a road. That’s a new low level of traffic violation with a fine of up to $100.

This bill doesn’t turn every child into an angel on an e-bike. It is not a frenzied and faulty effort to harass and punish people into obeisance. It won’t stop people from extracting more speed from their bikes. It doesn’t create time for police to chase down every e-bike violation. It doesn’t fix road systems without safe paths for bikes and pedestrians.

The first duty of a bill should be to make an improvement. This bill makes several.