MADISON - Nearly a year after the City of Milwaukee removed electric scooters from its streets, the popular devices may soon make a comeback.

The state Senate last week passed a bill that would allow local governments to regulate the use of electric scooters. The bill would allow scooters on roads and lays out a general framework for their use, treating them somewhat like bicycles.

Democratic State Sen. Chris Larson of Milwaukee, a sponsor of the legislation, said the bill was formed in response to public demand. He said people wanted to use the scooters, but they weren’t legal.

“Anybody who (had) them would get a ticket for operating an illegal vehicle,” Larson said of scooter riders in Milwaukee. “We wanted to make sure we were allowing these things to happen and making sure there was a framework to be used in town.”

Electric scooters made headlines last June when scooters from Bird Rides showed up unannounced in Milwaukee. The appearance was met with backlash from city officials, who cited safety and legal concerns with the vehicles.

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The City of Milwaukee eventually filed a lawsuit against the company requiring the scooters be removed until they become legal under state law. The city and Bird Rides reached a settlement in May, but the terms have not been released.

The Milwaukee Common Council in July passed a unanimous resolution directing the city to facilitate “the introduction and passage of state legislation to allow for the operation of motorized scooters.”

A release announcing the passage of the resolution touted the scooters as popular among millennials and an additional mode of transportation.

Electric scooters have recently emerged in cities across the country. Customers generally use an app that pinpoints the locations of available scooters throughout a city.

Once people find a scooter, they can scan a code on the scooter through the app to activate it. When a ride is over, the scooter should be parked near a bike rack, according to the Bird website. Each Bird ride costs $1 to unlock, plus a per-minute charge of about 15 cents.

Milwaukee Alderman Tony Zielinski, who sponsored the July resolution, called last week’s Senate vote “the first hurdle” in bringing the scooters back to Milwaukee. Zielinski said the scooters are beneficial for the city because they can “improve transportation mobility,” are environmentally friendly and could generate revenue for Milwaukee.

He floated a plan that would charge Bird $1 for each time one of its scooters was used in the city. The news release from July contends this plan could lead to “possibly tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars annually” for Milwaukee.

“I see that this has tremendous potential to help improve the quality of life of residents,” said Zielinski, who has served on the Common Council since 2004. “It’ll be successful on all fronts.”

Zielinski said there is “a very high likelihood” that the scooters will return to Milwaukee, adding that he would be interested in championing legislation and working closely with Bird to “expedite” the process.

Senate Bill 152 is now before the Assembly. But Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester has not said whether he would support the legislation. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers also did not respond to a request for comment.