BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 454
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 1, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
                               Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
                     SB 454 (Corbett) - As Amended:  May 24, 2013

           SENATE VOTE  :  28-11
           
          SUBJECT  :  Electric vehicle charging stations

           SUMMARY  :  Establishes requirements for the operation of electric  
          vehicle (EV) charging stations to better serve consumers.   
          Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Makes findings and declarations regarding transportation  
            sector contributions to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the  
            need to encourage infrastructure development and use of EVs.  

          2)Defines a variety of terms related to EV charging systems.   

          3)Prohibits EV charging stations from precluding non-members or  
            non-subscribers from using the EV charging station.  

          4)Requires that EV charging stations disclose the total actual  
            charges for EV charging use to the public at the point of  
            sale, including additional network roaming charges for  
            non-members or those without a subscription for the service.  
            
          5)Requires that EV charging stations that charge a fee for use  
            accommodate payment methods using a credit card or other  
            mobile technology.  

          6)Requires EV charging station service providers to disclose to  
            the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the EV  
            charging station's geographic location, fee schedule, accepted  
            methods of payment, and network roaming charges.  

          7)Requires that EV charging stations be labeled in accordance  
            with federal regulations.  

          8)Authorizes parking facilities with EV charging stations to use  
            appropriate directional signage to identify the location of EV  
            charging stations within the facility.  

          9)Authorizes the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to adopt  








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            interoperability billing standards for EV charging stations,  
            if such standards have not been adopted by a national  
            standards organization by January 1, 2015.  

          10)Requires, if CARB adopts interoperability standards, that all  
            EV charging stations that require payment, meet the imposed  
            interoperability standards within one year.  

          11)Requires CARB, when adopting interoperability standards for  
            EV charging stations, to consider industry-developed  
            interoperability billing standards and authorizes CARB to  
            adopt interoperability billing standards promulgated by  
            outside authoritative bodies.  
          12)Requires CARB to maintain a toll-free telephone number and  
            email address or Internet Web site to collect consumer  
            complaints regarding violations of EV charging station  
            requirements set forth in this bill.  

          13)Authorizes CARB to respond to consumer complaints, summarize  
            the complaints they receive, and make a summary of the  
            complaints available to the public annually.  
           
          EXISTING LAW  :  

          1)Enacts the Global Warming Act of 2006 that requires CARB to  
            adopt statewide green GHG emissions limits equivalent to the  
            statewide GHG emissions levels in 1990 to be achieved by 2020.  
             

          2)Requires the adoption of a state plan to increase the use of  
            alternative transportation fuels, including setting  
            alternative fuel goals.  

          3)Requires CARB to adopt regulations that achieve the maximum  
            feasible and cost-effective reduction of GHG emissions from  
            motor vehicles.  

          4)Established the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle  
            Technology Program to help implement the state's GHG emission  
            reduction goals.  

          5)Requires a manufacturer of an EV fuel dispensing system,  
            pursuant to federal law, to determine the electric charge of a  
            system and affix a permanent legible marking or permanently  
            attached label that discloses the manufacturer's name, the  








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            model number, serial number, or other identifier of the  
            system, and the fuel rating.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, this bill would result in a one-time cost to CARB of  
          up to $370,000 to adopt and develop interoperability billing  
          standards for electric vehicle charging stations and ongoing  
          annual costs of approximately $370,000 to maintain data on its  
          website and respond to public complaints.  

           COMMENTS  :  In March 2012, Governor Brown issued an executive  
          order (EO) directing state government to help accelerate the  
          market for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in California.  The EO  
          also established the goal of placing 1.5 million ZEVs on  
          California's roadways by 2025.  Also, in March 2012, the  
          California Public Utilities Commission announced a $120 million  
          dollar settlement with NRG Energy Inc. to fund the construction  
          of a statewide network of charging stations for ZEVs that  
          includes at least 200 public fast-charging stations and another  
          10,000 plug-in units at 1,000 locations across the state.  

          In February 2013, the Governor's Office released the ZEV Action  
          Plan, which identified strategies and actions to meet the  
          benchmarks in the EO.  The ZEV Action Plan specifically  
          addressed improvements to facilitate the purchase and use of  
          ZEVs by, among other things, improving access to EV charging  
          stations, placing charging stations in a wide variety of  
          locations, and establishing EV charging station interoperability  
          standards.  

          EV owners need to have the confidence that they will be able to  
          locate EV charging stations and charge their vehicles using  
          consistent and reliable payment methods.  The author points out,  
          however, that EV owners often do not have broad access to EV  
          charging stations because many privately-owned charging stations  
          require a subscription or membership for use.  The author notes  
          that some privately-owned EV charging stations allow non-members  
          to use the facility but only offer payment through the  
          subscription service, essentially barring non-members.  It is  
          the author's contention that these practices hinder rather than  
          help encourage EV adoption and use because if an EV owner cannot  
          charge their vehicle, the fear that they will become stranded  
          will cause them to use their EV less and also discourage  
          widespread adoption of EV technology.  









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          To address these concerns, the author has introduced this bill  
          which would improve accessibility to EV charging stations.   
          Specifically, the bill would prohibit EV charging stations from  
          requiring a subscription or membership as a condition of use and  
          would further require that EV charging stations allow for  
          payment using credit cards or other mobile technology.   
          Additionally, this bill would require that EV charging stations  
          provide geographic and fee information to NREL, a  
          federally-affiliated organization that collects and distributes  
          information free of charge, so that the information on EV  
          charging station location and fees can be more easily  
          disseminated to EV owners via websites of mobile phone  
          applications.  

          To further improve consumer disclosure, this bill also requires  
          that EV charging stations be labeled in accordance with federal  
          requirements and encourages that appropriate directional signage  
          be placed in parking areas or other facilities where EV stations  
          are located.  The bill also authorizes CARB to adopt  
          interoperability standards currently being developed by an  
          industry-led effort and makes it possible for CARB adopt these  
          standards while at the same time providing CARB with the  
          authority to develop interoperability standards independently in  
          the unlikely event that the industry-led effort is unsuccessful.  
           

          To ensure that consumer grievances are recorded and responded to  
          with regard to EV charging station access and operation, the  
          bill also requires that CARB establish a hotline to gather  
          consumer complaints.  The bill requires CARB to summarize  
          complaints annually and make the summary available to the public  
          via their website.  The sponsor of this bill, Plug In America,  
          has indicated that they intend to review the summary of  
          complaints compiled by CARB and address concerns, where  
          possible, to improve the EV charging system access toward the  
          overall goal of encouraging greater widespread adoption and use  
          of EV technology.  

           Previous legislation  :  SB 880 (Corbett), Chapter 6, Statutes of  
          2012, made changes to the rules on installation of EV charging  
          stations in common interest developments.  

          SB 209 (Corbett), Chapter 121, Statutes of 2012, provided that  
          the prohibition on the installation or use of EV charging  
          stations in any of the governing documents of a common interest  








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          development is void and unenforceable.  

          AB 2502 (Blumenfield), Chapter 675 Statutes of 2012, revised the  
          automobile conditional sales contract law to allow EV charging  
          stations to be sold with, and financed as part of, an automobile  
          purchase, with a required disclosure regarding charges.  

          SB 1310 (Kehoe), Chapter 649, Statutes of 2010, expanded the  
          voluntary contractual assessment to finance EV charging  
          infrastructure affixed on real property and expanded the  
          Property Assessed Clean Energy Reserve Program to assist local  
          jurisdictions in financing the installation of EV charging  
          infrastructure.  


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

           Support 
           
          Plug In America (sponsor)
          American Planning Association, California Chapter
          ChargePoint
          ECOtality
          Greenlots
          NRG Energy, Inc.
          Sierra Club California
          University of California Los Angeles Luskin Center for  
          Innovation
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file.

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :   Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916)  
          319-2093