Following months of debate surrounding moped safety and regulation on the Island, the Oak Bluffs selectmen have agreed to consider a home rule petition to ban all commercial moped rentals in town.

At a selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, town counsel Ronald H. Rappaport issued a response to a series of complaints filed in January by the Mopeds Are Dangerous Action Committee (MADAC). He also went further, presenting a draft bill that could potentially end the debate in Oak Bluffs for good.

The town is unable to ban moped rentals on its own without violating state law. But a home rule petition could create an exception. As drafted, the proposal would prohibit all commercial moped rentals and leases to the public. The bill would require approval from town voters as well as the state legislature.

“It starts the process, but the legislature doesn’t have to do anything,” Mr. Rappaport told selectmen, adding that he couldn’t predict whether the bill would pass. “All I can say is, that is the statutory vehicle for the town to proceed if it wishes to have a ban.”

Home rule petitions provide a way for towns and cities to expand their governing authority. On the Island, bylaws allowing the sale of beer and wine in Tisbury, West Tisbury and Aquinnah were all initiated by home rule petition. Mr. Rappaport said in each of those cases, the legislature added a provision subjecting the bill to approval at the town election, in addition to the town meeting.

Three out of four of the Island’s moped rental companies are located in Oak Bluffs, with the other in Vineyard Haven, meaning the bill could affect the whole Island, where mopeds are a common sight in the summer.

The complaint in January took aim at all three Oak Bluffs companies (Island Hoppers, King of Rentals and Ride-On Mopeds), alleging failures to comply with the town’s 2004 moped bylaw, which includes a requirement that rental companies provide onsite test tracks for their customers or otherwise obtain a waiver from the selectmen. The complaint also raised concerns related to payments and other activities, asking that all three licenses be declared null and void.

MADAC filed a similar complaint against Adventure Rentals in Tisbury in March.

Mr. Rappaport argued Tuesday that by continuing to grant licenses over the years in Oak Bluffs, the selectmen had at least indirectly waived the test track requirement. And while “record keeping was far from ideal,” he said, he could only infer from the record that licenses had been granted to the companies each year. As a result, he said, the licenses should remain valid.

The selectmen have yet to issue any licenses for 2017, and Mr. Rappaport recommended that no more be issued until the companies comply with the bylaw, including the requirement for an onsite track or a waiver.

He said there was no evidence that any moped rental company in town has ever applied for such a waiver, even though none of them currently meet the bylaw requirement — and none could, given their locations. Todd Rebello, a former selectman and town businessman representing the moped companies, claims the test track requirement was not aimed at existing companies, but Mr. Rappaport said the bylaw makes no such provision.

Various bylaws in Oak Bluffs over the years have aimed to reduce the number of mopeds and rental licenses in town. The town currently allows only up to five licenses and 308 mopeds. The state Attorney General has cautioned against reducing the number of licenses so much that it would constitute a ban, although it remains unclear what that number would be.

Mr. Rappaport said he would be willing to sit in on future waiver applications, which require public hearings before the selectmen.

The recommendations on Tuesday were the latest turn in a months-long debate triggered in part by an accident last summer in which a visiting college student driving a moped with a passenger lost part of her leg. A notice of legal claim against the town on her behalf argues, among other things, that the town has “consistently disregarded” its moped bylaws, leading to the accident.

Voters at the annual town meeting two weeks ago strongly backed an article asking to revoke the three licenses — and an article asking to ban moped rentals on Martha’s Vineyard altogether. Both articles were nonbinding, but underscored public opinion surrounding the issue.

“On some level, we have a responsibility to move something like that forward in the future,” selectman Brian Packish said of the proposed bill, noting the votes at town meeting.

Town voters also approved several amendments to the moped bylaw, including a requirement that employees be present for alternative training programs as allowed by a waiver, and accompany all operators and passengers, as well as their belongings. The changes are pending review by the Attorney General.

The selectmen voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt Mr. Rappaport’s findings and conclusions — including his recommendation that they consider filing a home rule petition — and to have him put them in writing.

“It’s a very difficult, emotional subject, and to have you present the facts makes it reasonable to deal with,” selectman Kathy Burton said. “I think we have a clear path.”

But not everyone felt the same way.

Kelly Malone, serving as counsel for Jason Leone, who owns or co-owns all three moped rental companies in town, said her client has applied for new licenses and was anxious to apply for waivers as well. “Every day that he is not in business is costing him money,” she said, asking how soon the selectmen planned to act on the recommendations.

Selectman Gail Barmakian said the board could decide whether to waive the test track requirements for Mr. Leone as soon as its next regular meeting on May 9.

“It’s not our intention to prolong this,” she said.