Bill Text: CA AB946 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Electric vehicle charging stations.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB946 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB946-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 946 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 21, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ting
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to amend Section 44268.2 44272
of the Health and Safety Code, relating to electric vehicles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 946, as amended, Ting. Electric vehicle charging stations.
Existing law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and
Development Commission to implement the Alternative and Renewable
Fuel Vehicle Technology Program to provide financial assistance to
develop and deploy innovative technologies that transform California'
s fuel and vehicle types to help attain the state's climate change
policies. Existing law includes within the program alternative and
renewable fuel infrastructure, fueling stations, and equipment.
This bill would specify that alternative and renewable fuel
infrastructure includes electric vehicle charging infrastructure in
disadvantaged communities.
Existing law, the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open Access
Act, prohibits the charging of a subscription fee on persons desiring
to use an electric vehicle charging station, as defined, and
prohibits a requirement for persons to obtain membership in any club,
association, or organization as a condition of using the station,
except as specified. The act authorizes the State Air Resources Board
to adopt interoperability billing standards for network roaming
payment methods for electric vehicle charging stations if no
interoperability billing standards have been adopted by a national
standards organization by January 1, 2015. The act provides that if
the state board adopts interoperability billing standards, all
electric vehicle charging stations that require payment shall meet
those standards within one year.
This bill would change the date of the state board's conditional
authorization to adopt those interoperability billing standards to
January 1, 2016, and would require the electric vehicle charging
stations to meet those standards within 6 months.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 44272 of the Health
and Safety Code is amended to read:
44272. (a) The Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle
Technology Program is hereby created. The program shall be
administered by the commission. The commission shall implement the
program by regulation pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of
the Government Code. The program shall provide, upon appropriation
by the Legislature, competitive grants, revolving loans, loan
guarantees, loans, or other appropriate funding measures, to public
agencies, vehicle and technology entities, businesses and projects,
public-private partnerships, workforce training partnerships and
collaboratives, fleet owners, consumers, recreational boaters, and
academic institutions to develop and deploy innovative technologies
that transform California's fuel and vehicle types to help attain the
state's climate change policies. The emphasis of this program shall
be to develop and deploy technology and alternative and renewable
fuels in the marketplace, without adopting any one preferred fuel or
technology.
(b) A project that receives more than seventy-five thousand
dollars ($75,000) in funds from the commission shall be approved at a
noticed public meeting of the commission and shall be consistent
with the priorities established by the investment plan adopted
pursuant to Section 44272.5. Under this article, the commission may
delegate to the commission's executive director, or his or her
designee, the authority to approve either of the following:
(1) A contract, grant, loan, or other agreement or award that
receives seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) or less in funds
from the commission.
(2) Amendments to a contract, grant, loan, or other agreement or
award as long as the amendments do not increase the amount of the
award, change the scope of the project, or modify the purpose of the
agreement.
(c) The commission shall provide preferences to those projects
that maximize the goals of the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and
Vehicle Technology Program, based on the following criteria, as
applicable:
(1) The project's ability to provide a measurable transition from
the nearly exclusive use of petroleum fuels to a diverse portfolio of
viable alternative fuels that meet petroleum reduction and
alternative fuel use goals.
(2) The project's consistency with existing and future state
climate change policy and low-carbon fuel standards.
(3) The project's ability to reduce criteria air pollutants and
air toxics and reduce or avoid multimedia environmental impacts.
(4) The project's ability to decrease, on a life-cycle basis, the
discharge of water pollutants or any other substances known to damage
human health or the environment, in comparison to the production and
use of California Phase 2 Reformulated Gasoline or diesel fuel
produced and sold pursuant to California diesel fuel regulations set
forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 2280) of Chapter 5 of
Division 3 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations.
(5) The project does not adversely impact the sustainability of
the state's natural resources, especially state and federal lands.
(6) The project provides nonstate matching funds. Costs incurred
from the date a proposed award is noticed may be counted as nonstate
matching funds. The commission may adopt further requirements for the
purposes of this paragraph. The commission is not liable for costs
incurred pursuant to this paragraph if the commission does not give
final approval for the project or the proposed recipient does not
meet requirements adopted by the commission pursuant to this
paragraph.
(7) The project provides economic benefits for California by
promoting California-based technology firms, jobs, and businesses.
(8) The project uses existing or proposed fueling infrastructure
to maximize the outcome of the project.
(9) The project's ability to reduce on a life-cycle assessment
greenhouse gas emissions by at least 10 percent, and higher
percentages in the future, from current reformulated gasoline and
diesel fuel standards established by the state board.
(10) The project's use of alternative fuel blends of at least 20
percent, and higher blend ratios in the future, with a preference for
projects with higher blends.
(11) The project drives new technology advancement for vehicles,
vessels, engines, and other equipment, and promotes the deployment of
that technology in the marketplace.
(d) The commission shall rank applications for projects proposed
for funding awards based on solicitation criteria developed in
accordance with subdivision (c), and shall give additional preference
to funding those projects with higher benefit-cost scores.
(e) Only the following shall be eligible for funding:
(1) Alternative and renewable fuel projects to develop and improve
alternative and renewable low-carbon fuels, including electricity,
ethanol, dimethyl ether, renewable diesel, natural gas, hydrogen, and
biomethane, among others, and their feedstocks that have high
potential for long-term or short-term commercialization, including
projects that lead to sustainable feedstocks.
(2) Demonstration and deployment projects that optimize
alternative and renewable fuels for existing and developing engine
technologies.
(3) Projects to produce alternative and renewable low-carbon fuels
in California.
(4) Projects to decrease the overall impact of an alternative and
renewable fuel's life cycle carbon footprint and increase
sustainability.
(5) Alternative and renewable fuel infrastructure, fueling
stations, and equipment. The preference in paragraph (10) of
subdivision (c) shall not apply to renewable diesel or biodiesel
infrastructure, fueling stations, and equipment used solely for
renewable diesel or biodiesel fuel. Alternative and renewable
fuel infrastructure includes electric vehicle charging infrastructure
in disadvantaged communities identified pursuant to Section 39711.
(6) Projects to develop and improve light-, medium-, and
heavy-duty vehicle technologies that provide for better fuel
efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions, alternative fuel usage
and storage, or emission reductions, including propulsion systems,
advanced internal combustion engines with a 40 percent or better
efficiency level over the current market standard, lightweight
materials, intelligent transportation systems, energy storage,
control systems and system integration, physical measurement and
metering systems and software, development of design standards and
testing and certification protocols, battery recycling and reuse,
engine and fuel optimization electronic and electrified components,
hybrid technology, plug-in hybrid technology, battery electric
vehicle technology, fuel cell technology, and conversions of hybrid
technology to plug-in technology through the installation of safety
certified supplemental battery modules.
(7) Programs and projects that accelerate the commercialization of
vehicles and alternative and renewable fuels including buy-down
programs through near-market and market-path deployments, advanced
technology warranty or replacement insurance, development of market
niches, supply-chain development, and research related to the
pedestrian safety impacts of vehicle technologies and alternative and
renewable fuels.
(8) Programs and projects to retrofit medium- and heavy-duty
onroad and nonroad vehicle fleets with technologies that create
higher fuel efficiencies, including alternative and renewable fuel
vehicles and technologies, idle management technology, and
aerodynamic retrofits that decrease fuel consumption.
(9) Infrastructure projects that promote alternative and renewable
fuel infrastructure development connected with existing fleets,
public transit, and existing transportation corridors, including
physical measurement or metering equipment and truck stop
electrification.
(10) Workforce training programs related to alternative and
renewable fuel feedstock production and extraction, renewable fuel
production, distribution, transport, and storage, high-performance
and low-emission vehicle technology and high tower electronics,
automotive computer systems, mass transit fleet conversion,
servicing, and maintenance, and other sectors or occupations related
to the purposes of this chapter.
(11) Block grants or incentive programs administered by public
entities or not-for-profit technology entities for multiple projects,
education and program promotion within California, and development
of alternative and renewable fuel and vehicle technology centers. The
commission may adopt guidelines for implementing the block grant or
incentive program, which shall be approved at a noticed public
meeting of the commission.
(12) Life cycle and multimedia analyses, sustainability and
environmental impact evaluations, and market, financial, and
technology assessments performed by a state agency to determine the
impacts of increasing the use of low-carbon transportation fuels and
technologies, and to assist in the preparation of the investment plan
and program implementation.
(13) A program to provide funding for homeowners who purchase a
plug-in electric vehicle to offset costs associated with modifying
electrical sources to include a residential plug-in electric vehicle
charging station. In establishing this program, the commission shall
consider funding criteria to maximize the public benefit of the
program.
(f) The commission may make a single source or sole source award
pursuant to this section for applied research. The same requirements
set forth in Section 25620.5 of the Public Resources Code shall apply
to awards made on a single source basis or a sole source basis. This
subdivision does not authorize the commission to make a single
source or sole source award for a project or activity other than for
applied research.
(g) The commission may do all of the following:
(1) Contract with the Treasurer to expend funds through programs
implemented by the Treasurer, if the expenditure is consistent with
all of the requirements of this article and Article 1 (commencing
with Section 44270).
(2) Contract with small business financial development
corporations established by the Governor's Office of Business and
Economic Development to expend funds through the Small Business Loan
Guarantee Program if the expenditure is consistent with all of the
requirements of this article and Article 1 (commencing with Section
44270).
(3) Advance funds, pursuant to an agreement with the commission,
to any of the following:
(A) A public entity.
(B) A recipient to enable it to make advance payments to a public
entity that is a subrecipient of the funds and under a binding and
enforceable subagreement with the recipient.
(C) An administrator of a block grant program.
SECTION 1. Section 44268.2 of the Health and
Safety Code is amended to read:
44268.2. (a) (1) Persons desiring to use an electric vehicle
charging station that requires payment of a fee shall not be required
to pay a subscription fee in order to use the station, and shall not
be required to obtain membership in any club, association, or
organization as a condition of using the station. The total actual
charges for the use of an electric vehicle charging station,
including any additional network roaming charges for nonmembers,
shall be disclosed to the public at the point of sale. An electric
vehicle charging station that requires payment of a fee shall allow a
person desiring to use the station to pay via credit card or mobile
technology, or both.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an electric vehicle charging
station may offer services on a subscription- or membership-only
basis provided those electric vehicle charging stations allow
nonsubscribers or nonmembers the ability to use the electric vehicle
charging station through the payment options detailed in paragraph
(1).
(b) The service provider of electric vehicle service equipment at
an electric vehicle charging station or its designee shall disclose
to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory the electric vehicle
charging station's geographic location, a schedule of fees, accepted
methods of payment, and the amount of network roaming charges for
nonmembers, if any.
(c) Electric vehicle charging stations shall be labeled in
accordance with Part 309 of Title 16 of the Code of Federal
Regulations, and, where commercially reasonable and feasible, may be
clearly marked with appropriate directional signage in the parking
area or facility where they are located.
(d) If no interoperability billing standards have been adopted by
a national standards organization by January 1, 2016, the state board
may adopt interoperability billing standards for network roaming
payment methods for electric vehicle charging stations. If the state
board adopts interoperability billing standards, all electric vehicle
charging stations that require payment shall meet those standards
within six months. Any standards adopted by the state board shall
consider other governmental or industry-developed interoperability
billing standards and may adopt interoperability billing standards
promulgated by an outside authoritative body.
