SB5128 – Reduces the registration fee for electric motorcycles.
Prime Sponsor – Senator Rolfes (D, 23rd District, Kitsap County)
Current status – Had hearing before the Senate Transportation Committee January 28th. Passed out of committee February 5th. Referred to Rules. Reintroduced and retained in present status for 2020 session. Sent to the “X” file.
Next step would be –  Action by the Rules Committee.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.
Senate Bill Report is available here.

Comments –
The substitute bill merely changed the date at which the reduction would become effective by a few months.

Summary –
Currently, owners of electric motorcycles pay the same annual registration fee as the owners of electric cars that can travel over 30 miles on the battery. The bill reduces the fee for motorcycles to $30/yr.

Comments – Gasoline motorcycles and scooters actually produce more air pollution and smog than cars; in fact, the California Air Resources Board estimates an average motorbike is about 10 times more polluting per mile than a passenger car, light truck or SUV. They are about twice as fuel efficient as an average cars, though, and they take less energy to produce, so riding one does reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

An electric bike doesn’t produce any smog, and riding one instead of a gas powered bike produces roughly half the reduction in CO2 emissions that switching from a gas car to an electric one does. (If the gas car is going 10,000 miles a year at 25 mpg it’s using 400 gallons; the gas bike would be using 200 gallons.)