BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 454
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 454 (Corbett)
As Amended September 3, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :28-11
TRANSPORTATION 10-3 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Lowenthal, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bocanegra, |
| |Bloom, Bonta, Buchanan, | |Bradford, |
| |Daly, Gordon, Gatto, | | Ian Calderon, Campos, |
| |Nazarian, Quirk-Silva | |Eggman, Gomez, Hall, |
| | | |Holden, Pan, Quirk, Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Linder, Morrell, |Nays:|Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Patterson | |Donnelly, Linder, Wagner |
| | | | |
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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
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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
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.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Enacts the Global Warming Act of 2006 that requires CARB to
adopt statewide 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)Establishes the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle
Technology Program to help implement the state's GHG emission
reduction goals.
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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
model number, serial number, or other identifier of the
system, and the fuel rating.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, if the ARB elects to adopt interoperability payment
standards, in the absence of federal action, it will incur
one-time contract costs of $300,000 to adopt the standards and
ongoing costs of $100,000 to monitor compliance. Since ARB
indicates it does not have a fee source appropriate to do the
above work, these costs would be incurred by the General Fund.
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
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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.
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 Web sites 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.
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
development is void and unenforceable.
AB 2502 (Blumenfield), Chapter 675, Statutes of 2012, revised
the automobile conditional sales contract law to allow EV
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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.
Analysis Prepared by : Victoria Alvarez / TRANS. / (916)
319-2093
FN: 0002141