Damn Virgina, and damn Ohio too...is about what I have to say on the matter.
My preference would be a little impact-trauma 'discussion' with the damn fools who proposed this monstrosity.
The Moped is the ideal vehicle for many older and/or disabled people due to it's ease of use, automatic transmission, hand controls, and general similarity to an electric scooter.
One of my preferred reasons for Trikes is that an electric engine can be mounted as a secondary, for use in buildings, drive up on gas, switch to electric, and then switch back to gas on the way home and the generator/alternator will charge the battery for the electric - the perfect vehicle for those without use of thier legs.
This kind of over-regulation screws that up by and large, due to one simple fact.
A lot of the folks who ride mopeds cannot afford motorcyles - many of the disabled and older folks are on fixed incomes, and many of the younger crowd does not make enough money to pay out for all the bullshit scam-jobbery one has to deal with over even a motorcycle.
Bills like this kill mopeds dead, dead, dead - the primary reason for purchase is not having to deal with that crap, and when bills like this come out, most folks simply buy a motorcycle - if anyone, your local moped dealers ought to be throwing some major shit-fits over this, they have everything to lose.
As for agenda Simon, that being pointedly obvious - profit.
How many times have people cursed the whole inspection/emissions scam, which most of Michigan threw out when they realized it is nothing more than an abusive form of legalized robbery, and more often than not abused.
As for Insurance, don't even get me started...but just this, a company you pay scads of money to, who's first action after an accident is to use YOUR money to hire a battery of lawyers to do thier level best to prove the accident was your fault so they do not have to pay, sticking you with the deductible either way....I think anyone who works in that industry should be lined up and shot at dawn - in the stomach.
Add in registration, title, tags, yadda yadda - and they might as well just stick a gun in your face and demand your wallet besides.
Helmet laws are somewhat irrelavent, most 'ped riders wear them by choice even when such a law exists, and in my opinion, it's really up to you - but I prefer to keep my brains in my head, where they belong.
On that, getting the right helmet that is not too heavy, constricting, and doesn't make you feel like you have your head in a bucket is at times problematic, but I prefer the old Bell open-face 3/4 head, without face shield - it offers maximum protection with minimum frustration, good visibility and doesn't weigh much.
All in all, this bill needs to die - contact your local riders, and especially your local dealers (who have the money to get into politics and bribe, err...donate to, the right people), and kill the damn thing before it breeds.
And while you're at it, spit in the general direction of Ohio for me, since they've already adopted all that bullshit and more.
(like reclassifying "moped" so that even a stock Tomos isn't small/quiet/slow enough to qualify)
Let us know how it goes,
-Ree